Surrounded by the beautiful backdrop of the Sunndal valley on the north western coast of Norway is one of Europe’s largest aluminium smelters, the Hydro Sunndal Plant at Sunndalsøra.
“We love it here,” says Jon Kr. Schnell, public relations manager, when we meet at the main gate. “This is a well run operation in the midst of one of Norway’s most spectacular natural sceneries. We have a safe, secure and well kept working place. And the demand for our aluminium products is on the rise. What more could we ask for?”
But this is rural Norway, distant from the central European markets, and also from Nordic clients. How come this plant is located here?
“Well, that’s an easy question to answer,” is Schnell’s immediate remark, “this is where the energy is! And that, aside from the alumina raw material, is the key ingredient in the manufacture of aluminium. But let’s start at the quay where we have two ships alongside at the moment, one unloading alumina and the other loading our finished products.”
The long drive down to the quay takes us through a remarkably well laid out and tidy industrial complex. “Our management puts great emphasis on our environment in all respects of the word,” says Schnell. “We are avid users of architects and engineers, both for technical proficiency and visual appearances. And we are well aware of our environmental responsibilities when running a heavy industrial operation like ours. We dearly value the natural riches surrounding us.”
A wheel loader is shovelling alumina dust towards the suction inlet deep down inside one of the nearly empty cargo holds of m/s Braztrans - one representative of about 250 calls into port made possible here each year, all year round, by the ice-free sea and fjord.
From here the alumina is taken for storage before entering each of the individual 524 electrolytic cells in the production halls through a closed transportation system.
“The electrochemical process takes place inside the cells, between electrodes made of steel and carbon. The carbon carries the oxygen away and we are left with the pure, liquid aluminium metal,” Schnell explains. “But you’ll have to leave your camera and your watch outside the halls before entering. The magnetic fields in there are extremely powerful and can be damaging due to the high amps flowing through the cells.”
The net output of liquid aluminium is about 1,000 tonnes per day, and during the process the carbon in the anodes is consumed and must be replenished.
Cells with prebaked carbon anodes have replaced the older Søderberg ones, which were abandoned some years ago. This has, in addition to production benefits, significant environmental advantages. “But we’ve kept an old Søderberg cell on display here on site as a reminder of our progress.”
One half of the carbon anodes is imported, while the other half is produced in an ‘anode bakery’ on site. The anode ingredients are heated to above 1,200 degrees Centigrade over a period of 14 days before entering the production cells.
“The baking heat is based on LNG from the North Sea and we take good care of it,” says Schnell. “We supply substantial amounts of heat from this process to local industry and to private households here in Sunndal.”
The primary aluminium produced at Sunndalsøra is processed to form alloys of various grades and qualities before shipment. This includes the addition of mainly manganese, magnesium and copper. A substantial amount of the pure aluminium output is given a silicon (Si) content of 7–11% for alloys primarily destined for the automotive industry.
The total output from the Hydro Sunndal Plant exceeded 430,000 tonnes of aluminium in 2006. Schnell concludes by saying: “We have a recorded history of high levels of individual safety and of clients that are satisfied with our specialised aluminium products. The standards of our daily production operations and our R&D departments have ensured this, and we aim to make sure this is the case in the future too.”
Text: Per Sverre Wold-Hansen
Hydro Sunndal Aluminium Plant
-Mother company market value: NOK 243 bill. (~US $ 40 bill.) (2006)
-Mother company ownership: 2/3 Norwegian
-Mother company ownership: 44% by state (of Norwegian share)
-The Sunndal plant location: North-western Norway, in Sunndalsfjord
-Aluminium production started 1954
-Financing partly based on the Marshall Plan for Europe
-Operative income: NOK 5,116 mill. (~US $ 675 mill.) (2005)
-Ca 1,000 employees
-Hydroelectric power consumption: 5,300 GWh (2005)
-Total aluminium alloy shipped: 407,983 tonnes (2005)
-Primary aluminium: 361,734 tonnes (2005)
-Alloyed extrusion billets: 330,635 tonnes (2005)
-Primary foundry alloys: 77,348 tonnes (2005)
-Anode production: 84,538 tonnes (2005)
-Voltage across electrolytic cells: four volts
-Amperage in cells: 290 kA maximum
-Hydro Aluminium Metallurgical R&D Centre (50 employees)
-Hydro Aluminium Accounting & Reporting Centre (42 employees)
-Hycast AS – development and sales of casthouse equipment (40 employees)
Sunndal Commune
-7,323 inhabitants
-4,000 inhabitants at Sunndalsøra, Sunndal Community centre
-Income: industry, agriculture, tourism
-Akvaforsk – Institute of Aquaculture Research AS
-Six hydroelectric power plants. Yield: 2,400 GWh
-National parks: Trollheimen, Innerdalen, Dovrefjell and Sunndalsfjella
Sources: The CIA World Factbook, Norsk Hydro printouts, locals
Date: 05 February 2008