Hydro to supply electric infrastructure with low-carbon aluminium
Aluminium and renewable energy company Hydro is investing in building a new wire rod casthouse at its aluminium smelter in Karmøy, Norway. The new facility will supply aluminium for use in critical energy infrastructure in Europe and is expected to start production in 2028.
Hydro Karmøy is one of Europe’s largest primary aluminium plants with a total annual production of around 270 000 tonnes of primary aluminium and 220 000 tonnes of casthouse products.
“This investment will expand the capacity of wire rod to supply our customers with low-carbon solutions needed to develop and expand Europe’s most critical infrastructure. This demonstrates that a productive aluminium industry has good growth opportunities in Norway,” says Eivind Kallevik, President and CEO of Hydro.
The wire rod casthouse in Karmøy will have a capacity of 110,000 tonnes per year. Completion of the casthouse is scheduled for the first quarter of 2028 and is Hydro’s largest investment in Norway in ten years.
The new casthouse will produce aluminium wire for power cables in Europe. Aluminium is defined by the EU as a critical material. Norway currently accounts for 40 percent of the aluminium produced in Europe.
“Europe’s energy transition is about one thing, more renewable power production, and the power produced must be transported over long distances. Aluminium is crucial for transporting electricity to where it is needed. By expanding the capacity to deliver low-carbon aluminium from Norway to the EU, we help ensure that the infrastructure, the very backbone of the future energy system, supports both Europe’s security and climate policy goals,” says Kallevik.
