Hydro has decided to build a large-scale technology pilot plant in Karmøy, Norway. The most climate-friendly and energy-efficient production system in the world for primary aluminium is to be tested in the plant. Total costs are estimated at 4.3 billion NOK (450 million euros) and comprise net project costs to the amount of 2.7 billion NOK and a subsidy of roughly 1.6 billion NOK from Enova. The pilot plant is anticipated to produce its first metal in the second half of 2017.
Hydro's aim with the pilot project is to make the most climate-friendly and energy-efficient aluminium electrolysis technology industrially viable. They want to reduce energy consumption per kg aluminium by around 15 percent compared to the global average, thus leaving the smallest possible ecological footprint. It is also expected that the implementation of technological spin-off effects in existing production facilities will improve the productivity of the current primary aluminium portfolio, contributing to Hydro's goal of raising capacity by 200,000 tonnes per year by 2025.
The technology pilot plant is designed for a capacity of roughly 75,000 tonnes per year. It consists of 48 cells with HAL4e technology (12.3 kWh/kg) and 12 cells with HAL4e Ultra technology (11.5-11.8 kWh/kg). The estimated total costs to the amount of 4.3 billion NOK comprise the net project costs of 2.7 billion NOK and a subsidy of roughly 1.6 billion NOK from Enova. The project costs were adjusted for inflation and currency in reference to the time at which the investment decision was announced in February 2015.
"After several successful improvement programmes, the next step to further strengthen our position on the cost curve is increasingly dependent on our ability to expand our leading position in technology and innovation," says the president of corporate management, Svein Richard Brandtzæg. "The technology pilot plant in Karmøy will play a key role in realising this goal, and it will ensure that the Norwegian technology cluster continues to be a world leader in the area of the sustainable production of aluminium."