Fossafélagið Títan
1918 drawing by Gotfred Sætersmoen showing the proposed Urriðafoss power plant on the Þjórsá river
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|
| Industry | Power generation |
|---|---|
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | 1914 in Iceland |
| Defunct | 1951 |
Fossafélagið Títan (Titan Waterfall Company) was an Icelandic company founded in 1914 to develop hydroelectric power plants. From 1914 to 1919 the company acquired shares of water rights and contracts with mine owners in Iceland. In 1927 the company received permission to build a 160,000 horsepower (120,000 kW) power station at Urriðafoss but was unable to raise capital for construction. The company became dormant and was wound up in 1951.
Frímann B. Arngrímsson came to Iceland in 1894 with proposals to mobilize water power to illuminate streets and buildings, but did not obtain backing. He met the poet and entrepreneur Einar Benediktsson, who encouraged him. Einar became fascinated by the potential of hydroelectric power, and his poetry discusses the power of waterfalls. In 1906 he began to engage in power generation enterprises, joining the boards of two companies, Skjálfanda and Gigant. These were formed to build and operate hydroelectric power plants, particularly the northern waterfalls of the Skjálfandafljót and Jökulsá á Fjöllum rivers.
In the fall of 1907 Einar Benediktsson travelled overseas to try to attract foreign capital to Iceland. He saw Norway as a model, a poor country that had used foreign investment to develop heavy industry. Over the next years Einar worked hard to establish overseas companies to exploit Icelandic waterfalls, and to buy or lease water rights in many of Iceland's major streams. His main partners were the brothers Sturla and Friðrik Sturlubræður, two of the wealthiest merchants in Reykjavík. Fund raising began, but there was opposition from people who objected to foreign involvement. Parliament passed a new law on waterfalls in 1907 that imposed further restrictions.
In 1914 Einar Benediktsson was one of the founders of Fossafélagið Títan and three sister companies Sirius, Orion and Taurus, established to harness the power of the Þjórsá waterfalls. Titan was the largest of the companies, and later absorbed the others. The Titan company was established in February 1914 with a nominal capital of ISK 12 million, double the budget of the state of Iceland.
The Norwegians associated with the company included highly regarded lawyers, engineers and businessmen in Kristiania (now Oslo). They were led by Oluf Aall, a Supreme Court Attorney who was chairman of the Titan company for many years. Oluf Aall was ten years younger than Einar Benediktsson, and specialized in legal counseling for Norwegian companies in foreign enterprises. He was chairman of many companies, was wealthy in his own right and was active in Norwegian politics. Icelanders who were involved in Titan from the first included the Sturlubræður brothers and the lawyer Eggert Claessen.
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