“We are very happy to finally bring Husnes line B back in operation, taking advantage of the extensive technology upgrades we have made and allowing our employees and the Husnes community to look toward the future after years of uncertainty,” says Eivind Kallevik, Head of the Primary Metal business.

When the restart was delayed earlier this year due to the market collapse caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Husnes had nearly completed an NOK 1.5 billion upgrade project to restart line B with technology spin-offs from the Karmøy technology pilot to lift operational and environmental performance to world-class standards.

“With the line B upgrades, Husnes is among the most climate-efficient aluminium smelters in the world, producing a material acknowledged by the European Union as an essential building block for the low-carbon, circular society,” Kallevik says.

Husnes currently produces close to 100,000 tonnes of primary aluminium per year after line B was shut during the financial crisis in 2009. The plant will gradually double production as line B is ramped up.

The decision to restart Husnes is based on market improvements, combined with expectations that Norway will continue to utilize EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) for 2021-2030.