Hydro decides to invest NOK 47 million in upgrading a casthoouse at Årdal aluminium plant

According to a recent report, Hydro, a Norwegian aluminium producer, has decided to invest around NOK 47 million in the casthouse at its Årdal aluminium plant to improve safety, lower energy consumption and carbon emissions, and accelerate production.

The investment is for installing a new preheating chamber, which will be used for preheating cold metal and post-consumer aluminium before being added to the casting process. The benefits of having a dedicated preheating chamber include casting process more efficient, safer, and use surplus heat from the casting furnace as an energy source.

“This project involves increased profitability, sustainability and safety. Hydro has an ambition to double the use of post-consumer aluminum. This investment will contribute to this, while reducing the plant’s CO2 footprint through smart utilization of surplus energy. This strengthens Hydro Årdal’s profitability and competitiveness. A preheating chamber will also make it even safer to add post-consumer aluminum to the casting furnace, as preheating eliminates the risk of moisture in the metal,” says Ola Sæter, Head of primary production in Hydro.

The casting furnace emits excess heat during operation, and can be used as an energy source for the new preheating chamber. This, as a result, reduces carbon footprint and increases efficiency, enable Hydro Ardal to ramp-up production by about 5000 tonnes a year.

“This is very positive for Hydro Årdal. We see that the projects we implement are both profitable and sustainable, and that strengthens the plant for the future,” says Wenche Eldegard, plant manager at Hydro Årdal.