Re-melting aluminium into new products requires extremely high temperatures, an energy intensive process which is hard to achieve without fossil energy in the form of natural gas. However, new plasma technology will enable electrification of the process, using the same renewable energy that powers Hydro’s primary smelters.

“We aim to change the game for aluminium production. Plasma technology is both high tech and future oriented. If we succeed with the pilot project at Sunndal it will not only affect the aluminium industry, but also other hard-to-abate industries worldwide,” says Eivind Kallevik, Executive Vice President for Hydro Aluminium Metal.

Hydro aims to melt the first aluminium with near zero emissions from the casthouse at Sunndal in the fourth quarter of 2025. The pilot will reduce carbon emissions by over 500 tonnes annually, but the global potential for reducing emissions from aluminium casthouses and recyclers is about 11 million tonnes of CO2. Enova, an enterprise established by the Norwegian Government to facilitate the transition to a low-emission society, has granted NOK 39.6 million in support of the project.

Hydro’s path to zero

Hydro’s goal is to achieve zero emissions in the entire aluminium value chain by 2050. Hydro Sunndal, Europe’s largest and most modern aluminium plant, also serves as test site for capturing carbon emissions from the existing electrolysis. In the fall of 2023, Hydro also decided to invest in a test facility in Porsgrunn to further develop HalZero, an entirely new technology for primary aluminium production that will eliminate carbon emissions from both electrolysis and anode baking.

“We are working closely with Europe’s most demanding customers to help them achieve their climate ambitions through the use of low-carbon and recycled aluminium. We are proud to offer aluminium based on renewable energy and with 75 percent lower carbon footprint than the global average,” says Kallevik.