Hydro reduces shipping emissions by 35% on major aluminium routes

Norsk Hydro has managed to cut emissions by roughly 30-35 per cent on one of its main European shipping routes, using upgrades on two cargo vessels, Trans Sol and Trans Hav, operated by Sea-Cargo. The ships are used to move low-carbon aluminium from Norway into European markets, so this is basically about reducing emissions in the logistics part of the value chain, not production itself.

Most of the gains come from a mix of changes rather than one big switch. The vessels now use wind-assisted propulsion through rotor sails, along with onboard solar panels, around 1,600 square metres, plus battery storage, upgraded propellers and smarter power management systems. There’s also shore power capability, so they can plug into electricity while docked instead of running engines, and NOx scrubbers to deal with exhaust emissions. All of that together cuts fuel use while keeping operations stable.

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According to Gerd Aalborg Aas, logistics is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels, so this is an area the company is trying to clean up step by step. “We are working systematically to lower the footprint of our logistics chain… using new technology and digital tools to improve efficiency,” she said. The same project is also being counted toward Hydro’s broader goal of cutting logistics-related emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, which itself sits inside a wider net-zero target for 2050.

Shipping is not an easy sector to decarbonise, as it makes up roughly 3 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so changes tend to be incremental. Still, Hydro says projects like this show that reductions are already possible without waiting for entirely new fuels or systems. The company also noted that this single route accounts for around 20 per cent of its total logistics reduction target for its aluminium business, so it’s not a small contribution.

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The route itself connects Hydro’s primary aluminium plants in western Norway, places like Sunndal, Høyanger, Karmøy, Husnes and Årda, to customers across Europe. By lowering emissions on these high-volume routes, the company is also trying to reduce the overall footprint of the aluminium it sells.

This isn’t the first move in that direction either. Hydro has been working on similar logistics upgrades, including earlier vessel improvements and partnerships aimed at making shipping more energy efficient. One of the ships, Trans Sol, is also being showcased during One Ocean Week in Bergen, which is basically a way of showing what current solutions can already do in practice.

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