Hydro, the leading European aluminium company, is well ahead with its investment projects in Neuss and Grevenbroich totaling EUR 230 million.

Minister lays foundation stone for alu-light cars

Today, the Economy Minister of Germany's largest state Nordrhein-Westfalen, Garrelt Duin, and Hydro Executive Vice President Kjetil Ebbesberg laid the foundation stone for the project to build a third production line for automotive aluminium body sheet.

This EUR 130 million investment shall be commissioned in the second half of 2016, boosting local capacity for aluminium car body sheet from currently 50,000 to 200,000 tonnes per year. The demand for aluminium in the automotive sector is growing tremendously, since the lightweight material helps reduce fuel consumption and save CO2 emissions.

“Our new production line allows us rather soon to satisfy the urgent and further growing demand of our customers,” said Ebbesberg. With the new production facility, Hydro is creating 25 additional jobs.

The new, most modern production line will comprise of a 190 meters long production hall, neighbor buildings and a high-bay storage. The production hall will form the center of the facility in a steel construction with dammed trapeze sheet façade and a surrounding concrete fundament.

In total, Hydro is investing about EUR 230 million to expand and modernize its operations in the Rhine region. Most important, ongoing projects are the modernization and expansion of hot rolling capacity by 150,000 tonnes per year at the Neuss-based Alunorf joint venture for a total of EUR 80 million on a 100 percent basis, in addition to building of a new plant for sorting and recycling of used aluminium beverage cans at Hydro´s Rheinwerk site in Neuss, increasing local recycling capacity 50,000 tonnes per year at an invest of EUR 45 million.