Artificial intelligence is the next step for Atlantic Sapphire

by
Katrina Poulsen

Innovation continues as Atlantic Sapphire is looking into artificial intelligence to  help optimize their Bluehouse in Denmark and Miami even more.

It is windy on the outside stairs of Atlantic Sapphire Denmark, Managing Director of Atlantic Sapphire Denmark, Ole Spicker walks up the stairs and he yells:
“They say, that there are only seven days a year, where it is not windy out here and in those seven days it storms.”

As the grey mist covers the ocean like a duvet, it is hard to see very far, but not far from the construction site of Atlantic Sapphire Denmark, stands a huge windmill.

Read also:Quarter of a million salmon die at Atlantic Sapphire’s Danish RAS facility

“That windmill right over their creates the most energy in all of Denmark,” Ole Spicker adds and points at a windmill around 500 meters from the expansion site of the Bluehouse facility.

Atlantic Sapphire Denmark. Photo: Katrina Poulsen.

It’s know to be windy on the West Coast of Denmark, and Atlantic Sapphire Denmark is placed on a shallow strip on land, that separates Ringkøbing Fjord and the North Sea, making it even more exposed. But when stepping inside the socks only office of Atlantic Sapphire the weather does not seem to bother the employees. Or maybe it’s just a sign of, how much is going on behind the big blue walls.

Salmon football team
“We feel a bit like a salmon football team playing down on the football field, attending a single-player game while the whole industry is standing spectators watching our next move. Well at least that how it feels sometimes,” says Ole Spicker as he puts on rubber boats and disinfect his hands, so he can show the facilities of both the older tank and the new tank expansion of Atlantic Sapphire.

Ole Spicker continues:

“The industry is also well aware, at least the suppliers, that if we are successful with our project… It is not a question of whether there is a future in land-based farming. But when we succeed, it will be a huge challenge for the entire industry. Because some political decisions will have to be made about right and wrong, and that will have consequences.”

Attlantic Sapphire Denmark. Photo: Katrina Poulsen

Not here to point fingers at anyone
Atlantic Sapphire as a company does not have an opinion about this. According to Ole Spicker, the company sees its product as a supplement for the existing industry.

“We have found our way. We are not here to point fingers at others. We want to transform the protein production of today,” says Ole Spicker.

 

In contact with several artificial intelligence companies
As salmon gets moved through water pipes from one to another tank according to age, swinging tubes of feed circle over several of the tanks providing feed for the swimming salmon, Ole Spicker keeps explaining, how the company now wishes to invest in artificial intelligence to optimise the production.

“We are looking at using artificial intelligence in our production. We are currently exploring how it can solve specific tasks in staffing and monitoring, so we are working on 2-3 specific issues. Again we are first movers on this and we are building a platform and finding software and hardware for the platform,” Ole Spicker explains.

Atlantic Sapphire is in contact with several companies within artificial intelligence in Norway, The Faroe Islands and unlisted countries besides the two.

Artificial intelligence will maximise
According to Ole Spicker, it is important to make a decision based on a detailed study.

Atlantic Sapphire DK. Photo: Katrina Poulsen

“We believe that artificial intelligence can maximise our production and also make sure we have proper monitoring at all times,” he says and adds:

“When you are as big a company as us, we cannot afford to say we only want to collaborate with one company, before we have to take a detailed look at the segment for the entire area. We must behave properly in relation to our subcontractors. When we make such large investments, we must be sure that it is the right fit,” Ole Spicker explains.

Atlantic Sapphire does not have a concrete number on how much they are planing to invest in artificial intelligence as their main focus at the moment is the Miami facility and harvesting the first fish this summer.

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