Salmon Evolution has been granted a funding commitment of EUR 9 million from Norwegian government-owned enterprise Enova. This commitment is a cash grant and the funding from Enova will not require any material additional investment needs from Salmon Evolution
The grant from Enova is linked to the ongoing construction project that Salmon Evolution is undertaking for its land-based salmon farming facility in Møre og Romsdal, Western Norway, the company wrote in an announcement on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
After the first stage of construction, the facility, which may become Europe’s largest land-based salmon farm, will produce around 9,000 tonnes of salmon annually.
“With this funding support, Enova contributes to Salmon Evolution realising tomorrow’s solutions for salmon farming. Our strategy of establishing a significant, low-emission salmon production on land, remains unchanged,” said Salmon Evolution CEO Håkon André Berg.
The Norwegian Government’s ambition is to increase aquaculture production fivefold in 2050. At the same time, Norway is aiming to become a low-emission society with 90 per-cent lower greenhouse gas emissions. Enova wants to support the aquaculture industry to cut emissions and increase profitability with energy and climate measures.
“We believe that Enova’s contribution will further strengthen Norway’s position as a world-leading salmon producer,” Berg addded.
Enova is owned by Norway’s Ministry of Climate and Environment and contributes to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, development of energy and climate technology, and strengthened security of supply.
“With the grant from Enova, Salmon Evolution is strengthening its financial situation,” said Berg.
According to the announcement, Salmon Evolution has attracted EUR 74 million of equity in 2020, in addition to raising EUR 5 million in 2019. Efforts are also being made to secure a debt arrangement of EUR 36 million from a consortium of three banks. To date, the company has cash holdings of EUR 62 million (NOK 3.08 per share), and EUR 3.6 million in debt to financial institutions.
Salmon Evolution’s stock price increased 11 per-cent after the announcement.
