- Norway’s Norsk Hydro has completed the two-years long testing of its low-energy HAL4e aluminum production technology.
According to a news release, the pilot plant in Karmoy, Norway began testing the new production method in January 2018 and has achieved operating results of 12.3 kWh of energy used per kilogram of aluminum produced, about 15pc lower than the global average. The NOK4.6bn ($527mn) plant consists of 60 electrolysis cells, 20 of which are already under production.
Hydro plans to implement second-generation cells for testing soon. Notably, the company has already integrated certain elements of the new technology at its Husnes B line, which was restarted last month after 11 years. However, it has not disclosed the improvement in cost or scale of production through this technology at present.
($1 = NOK8.73)