Hydro enters into new long-term power contract for Neuss aluminium plant in Germany

Norwegian aluminium company Norsk Hydro ASA's fully owned subsidiary, Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH, has secured a power contract with Axpo Trading AG, a Switzerland-based energy company with captive power production and international trading activity, totaling 1.3 TWh (150 MW) annually in the five year period from 2021 to 2025.

The power contract supplements the power contract which was entered into in July 2015, totaling 0.9 TWh (100 MW) annually in the eight year period from 2018 to 2025. These two contracts replace an existing combination of internal and external power arrangements entered into in 2012, supplying Hydro Neuss primary aluminium plant with a total of 2.2 TWh (250 MW) annually in the period from 2013 to 2017.

In the period from 2018 to 2020, the remaining 1.3 TWh (150 MW) is replaced by an internal power contract. "I am pleased that we have been able to secure power for our Neuss aluminium plant until the end of 2025. In line with the global trend, the German exchange-traded forward power prices have fallen EUR 25-30 since 2012. Together with the ongoing Better Rolled Products improvement ambition, which targets NOK 900 million in annual improvements by the end of 2019, this contract further strengthens the competitiveness of our operations," says Executive Vice President and Head of Rolled Products Kjetil Ebbesberg.

Hydro's Neuss plant is 100 percent owned by Hydro and located in the Western part of Germany, close to Düsseldorf. It currently produces primary aluminium at two-thirds of its total 235 000 mt annual capacity, then casting and delivering sheet ingot to the next-door Alunorf hot rolling mill. Furthermore, the Neuss plant is stepping up recycling and has recently commissioned a EUR-45 million facility for recycling 50,000 tonnes of used beverage cans (UBC), contributing to lower metal cost and Hydro's target to become carbon neutral by 2020.