Innovasea enters Icelandic market with land-based system

Leading aquaculture technology firm Innovasea has announced the launch of its land-based aquaculture systems in Iceland, through a collaboration with Thor Salmon, which is incorporating Innovasea’s Gas Management Towers (GMT) at its new smolt facility in Thorlakshofn, South Iceland.

“We are excited to bring our expertise, equipment, and engineering know-how to the area,” said Innovasea VP Marc Turano in a press release. “Iceland has shown a commitment to sustainable aquaculture, and we are proud to help advance this mission.”

Innovasea’s GMT system utilizes an energy-efficient design, relying on gravity rather than pressurized systems to move water, reducing energy costs by up to 77%, according to the company.  "By offering an all-in-one gravity-based solution, facilities gain a more compact, safer, and simplified alternative to pressurized systems," Innovasea said.

Thor Salmon, which is building a land-based hybrid flow-through facility with a production capacity of 20,000 tonnes per year, is developing its farm in four phases starting with a smolt facility and followed by a 5,000-tonnes on-growing facility. The company broke ground at the construction site in July 2024.

For its smolt facility, the Icelandic company will install three Innovasea GMTs, together with dissolved oxygen (DO) sensors and an automated control panel, in order to optimize remote monitoring and oxygen level management in its facility, the company said.

“Our collaboration with Innovasea offers us an efficient, state-of-the-art gas management solution that will play an important role in producing outstanding salmon smolts in our smolt facility. This is part of our journey of producing 20,000 metric tons of salmon annually,” explained Thor Salmon co-founder Jonatan Thordarson.

Innovasea’s Icelandic operations will be conducted out of its Norway office, and the company has partnered with the Iceland-based technology company KAPP to deliver its solutions to Iceland.

“This is an exciting time for Iceland’s aquaculture industry,” said KAPP CTO Valthor Hermannson. “KAPP has been a leading force for Icelandic fishing, aquaculture, and other industries. Now, by partnering with Innovasea, we're making the latest technology available to drive our industry forward. Servicing and supporting our customers is our number one priority.”