federation of aluminium consumers in europe
Norsk Hydro To Double Husnes Plant’s Aluminium Production
Norwegian aluminium maker Norsk Hydro ASA decided to invest NOK 1.4 billion (EUR 146 million) into its aluminium plant in Husnes, Norway. The project aims to double production and create 90 new jobs.
With its expansion project at the Husne’s facility, Hydro will upgrade and start-up the plant’s second production line. The line has been idle since 2009 and the decision to reopen production has been under deliberation since December 2017.
Aiming for better production efficiency at the plant, Hydro’s Head of Primary Metal Hilde Merete Aasheim, explained:
“We’re committing to aluminium production in Norway based on clean, renewable energy and doing so with world-class technology.”
Currently, Hydro Husnes produces annually around 95,000 tonnes of primary aluminium and with the reopening of the plan’s second line, the number will go up to 190,00 tonnes. Hydro plans to bring the line back live by the first half of 2020.
With operations in over 50 countries and a workforce of over 35,000 people around the globe, Hydro is a fully integrated aluminium company. The company’s primary aluminium production in 2011 was close to 2 million metric tons, which represented 4.5 per cent of the world’s production.
Earlier this month, Hydro called off a EUR 293 million deal with an Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto to purchase Rio Tinto Iceland Ltd. (ISAL), a stake in Dutch anode facility Aluminium & Chemie Rotterdam B.V. (Aluchemie) and a stake in Swedish aluminium fluoride plant Alufluor AB (Alufluor). The two companies cited the extended time-frame required for the European Commission competition approval process as the reason to stop the acquisition process.
Norway ranks among the top primary aluminium-producing countries in the world. With some of the largest aluminium plants in Western Europe, about 97 per cent of Norway’s aluminium exports in 2017 went to markets in Europe.
We have made a final decision to invest NOK 1.4 billion at Husnes to upgrade and start-up the plant’s second production line, which will double the plant’s #aluminium production and create 90 more jobs https://t.co/EGkbfvgJTp #aluminiumbyhydro pic.twitter.com/poFya6k3c9
— Norsk Hydro (@NorskHydroASA) September 19, 2018
