BIOMAR TECHNOLOGY CENTRE

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BioMar Technology Centre, located in Brande, Denmark, is a pilot plant in one tenth of the size of a normal feed factory. The main purpose of the unit is to produce feed to be used in nutrition research trials . BioMar Technology Centre is also strongly involved in the testing of new raw materials and the effect on physical product quality (such as pellet durability and sinking speed) as well as testing process technology.

Designed as a mini-factory, BioMar Technology Centre  has the same equipment as other BioMar production facilities, annually producing more than 600 different feed codes/trial diets for research purposes.

BioMar's feed trial unit in Hirtshals, Denmark, is one of the largest privately owned aquaculture feed research centers in Europe. It is part of the international research environment based at the renowned North Sea Science Park.

Established in 1992, the BioMar Feed Trial Unit in Hirtshals has continuously been enlarged and modernized to meet the requirements of testing feed for modern fish farming conditions, including biosecurity, fish welfare and environmental impact.  The feed trial unit covers about 1,200 square meters and has an experimental tank capacity of 219 tanks with 11 separate RAS systems plus four retention units. More than 16 trials can be run simultaneously. There are sections optimized for different fish sizes, species and purposes and all systems can be manipulated to meet a number of predefined trial conditions.

The temperature can be controlled between 6 ºC and 28 ºC and thanks to its location on the shores of the North Sea in the fishing port of Hirtshals the feed trial unit has access to salt water which also makes it ideal for tests on marine fish species.

The BioMar Feed Trial Unit in Hirtshals is fully owned by BioMar. 

The Aquaculture Technology Center Patagonia (ATC Patagonia) in Chile it is located 33 kilometers from Puerto Montt, in a place on the Lenca river. Created in 2011, this aquaculture contract-research center was built targeting the highest standards with regard to quality, monitoring, control and biosecurity. Later, in 2015, it was further improved and optimized, making it the most complete and modern aquaculture research center in the Southern Hemisphere.

ATC Patagonia covers 2.5 hectares of surface, with more than 2,000 square meters of construction. More than 16 trials can be run simultaneously in ATC Patagonia. Everything is monitored and controlled in a recirculation system for trials in fresh water and sea water. By this trials can be carried out by simulating the complete production cycle in fish farming. The temperature can be controlled between 3 ºC and 28 ºC. The environmental impact and fish welfare are being taken care of by applying high biosecurity standards, water treatment systems and a series of standardized management practices.

The LetSea feed trial unit in Norway is located in Dønna county in Northern Norway. The feed trial unit started its operations in 1996 and has since developed to become an important contributor to the research on Atlantic salmon, cod and trout.

LetSea has 112 trial sea cages and four large scale Research and Development licences in sea as well as on-land RAS facilities for trials in salt, fresh and brackish water.

BioMar uses the LetSea facilities to run feed trials on our feed concepts, mainly on Atlantic salmon, but also trout and lumpfish.

BioMar has for several years had an active 34 % ownership in LetSea.

The Aquaculture Technology Center Ecuador (ATC Ecuador) is located near Guayaquil, Ecuador and was built in 2018.

ATC Ecuador is dedicated to the test of shrimp feeds and supports the development of shrimp diets and farming practises globally.

ATC Ecuador is the most advanced system in Ecuador for shrimp nutrition studies with state-of-of-the-art equipment. It houses multiple water recirculation systems which ensure full control of the parameters during trials. The system allows for the evaluation of diets simulating the complete shrimp production lifecycle.

The research projects include novel raw materials, nutrient utilization, health benefits, feed technology and quality.