Norsk Hydro to Close Primary Aluminum Production at Slovakia Plant

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Slovalco aluminium facility in Slovakia, primarily owned by Norsk Hydro, announced its decision to close primary aluminium production at the plant.

The closure will commence shortly and is expected to be completed by end-September this year. For the time being, the primary production lines will be mothballed. The company may resume operations at a later stage upon improvement in market and framework conditions.

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The company press release stated that the decision comes in the wake of adverse framework conditions and elevated electricity prices, which has not displayed any sign of improvement in the short term. Meantime, the casthouse at the facility will continue its recycling operation, providing the region with nearly 75,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium every year.

It must be noted that the plant is currently running at 60% of its total capacity, after having curtailed 40% of its 175,000 tonnes per year primary capacity in late 2021 and early 2022.

The plant’s current contract expires at the end of the current year. The non-implementation of the competitive EU CO2 compensation framework by Slovakia has prevented it from entering long term power contracts. The current Slovak framework conditions and the European power prices would lead the plant to substantial financial losses, if operated beyond 2022.