SalMar owner faces court over disputed green energy investment deal.
Tidal Sails founder Are Børgesen has filed a lawsuit seeking NOK 2.87 million (€244,000 / $278,000) from Gustav Witzøe, alleging that Witzøe failed to honour a promised investment in a tidal energy project.
The case was heard this week at Trondheim District Court, according to reporting by Adresseavisen.
Tidal Sails is a Norwegian marine energy start-up focused on tidal power, aiming to generate electricity from predictable tidal currents using submerged turbine systems.
Børgesen claims that he and Witzøe reached a handshake agreement on a NOK 10 million (€850,000 / $970,000) investment in a planned tidal power facility in Finnmark. He stated that the agreement was made during a meeting at the Trondheim offices of SalMar on 22 February 2024.
Witzøe is the founder and principal shareholder of SalMar, one of the world’s largest salmon farming companies, with major farming operations in Norway, Iceland and offshore through its Ocean Farm programme. He is one of Norway’s most prominent seafood entrepreneurs and among the country’s wealthiest individuals.
Court proceedings indicated that no other attendees were able to corroborate Børgesen’s account of the alleged agreement. Andreas Sandvik, a former board member of Tidal Sails who was present at the meeting, testified that no investment agreement was concluded.
According to Adresseavisen, Witzøe told the court that he was initially positive to the project but became sceptical during the meeting due to what he described as a lack of precision in the presentation. He denied entering into any binding investment commitment.
Tidal Sails has brought the claim against Witzøe personally, rather than SalMar. Witzøe’s lawyer, Eirik Edvardsen, rejected the claim, stating that no agreement had been made.
Børgesen maintained in his testimony that an agreement was reached and alleged that witnesses who disputed this were not telling the truth. Witzøe denied that any investment was agreed by handshake, stating that the only handshakes exchanged were greetings at the beginning and end of the meeting.
