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Company type | Allmennaksjeselskap |
---|---|
OSE: NHY | |
Industry | Metals |
Founded | 1905 |
Headquarters | Oslo, Norway |
Key people | Eivind Kallevik (President and CEO), Rune Bjerke (Chairman) |
Products | Aluminium and related products; hydropower and solar power technologies |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Total assets | ![]() |
Number of employees | 35,000 (end 2017) [2] |
Website | hydro |
Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just Hydro) is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. [3] It has operations in some 50 countries around the world and is active on all continents.[ citation needed ] The Norwegian state owns 34.3% of the company through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. A further 6.5% is owned by Folketrygdfond, which administers the Government Pension Fund of Norway. Norsk Hydro employs approximately 35,000 people. [4] Eivind Kallevik has been the CEO since May, 2024, following Hilde Merete Aasheim. [5]
Hydro had a significant presence in the oil and gas industry until October 2007, when these operations were merged with Statoil to form StatoilHydro (in 2009 changed back to Statoil, which is now called Equinor).
Financed by the Swedish Wallenberg family and French banks, the company was founded on December 2, 1905 as Norsk hydro-elektrisk (lit. Norwegian hydro-electric nitrogen limited) by Sam Eyde, exploiting a novel technology for producing artificial fertilizers by fixing nitrogen from air. The technology had been developed by the Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland. The method is still known as the Birkeland–Eyde process. The process required large amounts of electric energy, and for this, a power plant was built at the Svelgfossen waterfall near Notodden. Later also Rjukan Falls was developed and its power harnessed, in the process establishing the city of Rjukan, establishing the plant Norsk Hydro Rjukan.
Hydro's first factory was built at Notodden (opened in 1907) followed up with another at Rjukan, Tinn (opened in 1911). Then in 1920 production was established at Glomfjord in Nordland. In 1930 Norsk Hydro opened a plant at Herøya outside Porsgrunn. To begin with it was to function as a shipping port for the fertilizer as well as a point to import limestone. From 1936 Hydro also started producing fertilizer at Herøya. There was also opened a railway, Rjukanbanen, connecting Rjukan with Hærøy. The railway opened in 1909 and consisted of a railway ferry across Lake Tinn, railway again with the Tinnoset Line and a barge ride from Borgestad to Herøya with barge on the Telemark Canal. The canal was superseded by the Bratsberg Line in 1916.
By the 1920s, Norsk Hydro's electric arc-based technology for manufacturing artificial fertilizer was no longer able to compete with the newly developed Haber-Bosch process, and in 1927 the company formed a partnership with the German company IG Farben in order to gain access to this process. By 1945, IG Farben had become a majority shareholder in Norsk Hydro. The plant at Herøya was a direct result of no longer being dependent on immediate proximity to the power sources. This provided the advantage of being able to have the plants and the shipping port in the same location, as was the case with the Herøya plant.
The Rjukan plant was the only location in Europe which produced heavy water, a component the Allied powers in World War II feared would be used as part of the German atomic bomb project. At the time, German industrial conglomerate I.G. Farben owned stock in Norsk Hydro, which then produced less than 11 litres (3 US gal ) of heavy water per month, and the company was approached to increase its deuterium output to at least 110 litres (30 US gal) per month. [6] Although Norsk Hydro's management had previously refused to supply the heavy water, upon Norway's surrender to Nazi Germany, the company gave up its resistance and agreed to supply 1.5 tons of heavy water per year. [6]
Consequently, Norsk Hydro's facilities were the target of several commando and air raids and a sabotage raid which eventually resulted in the plant's destruction and later reconstruction.
The first steps towards light metal production came in 1940 when Hydro started construction of a magnesium carbonate plant at Herøya, but the German invasion of Norway stopped the plans.
In 1941 the Oslo Consortium (Norwegian: Oslo-konsortiet) invested money equivalent to year 2014 Norwegian kroner 172 million. [7] (The consortium included Thomas Fearnley, Orkla, Fred Olsen, Storebrand, Jens P. Heyerdahl, Klaveness & Co, Christopher Kahrs Kielland. [7] ) Collaboration with the Nazi-German regime, did not result in any company employees being convicted (for collaboration) after the war. [7]
During the Second World War Norsk Hydro collaborated with IG Farben and Nordische Aluminium Aktiengesellschaft (Nordag) in building new aluminium and magnesium plants in support of the German war effort. The construction was however ended on July 24, 1943 when an allied bombardment completely destroyed the facilities, killing 55 construction workers. As Germany's defeat became more likely, Norsk Hydro started to tone down its collaborative relations with the occupier.
In 1946 the Årdal aluminium plant was opened, operated by the state owned company Årdal og Sunndal Verk. In a merger, Hydro acquired this company in 1986, in essence establishing the light metal division Hydro Aluminium.
Since 1919, there had been zinc production and then aluminium production at Glomfjord in Northern Norway. Hydro bought the power plant in 1947 and started ammonia production there instead. In the 1950s Hydro opened a new magnesium plant in Herøya and in 1963 Hydro started in cooperation with Harvey Aluminum, building a plant at Karmøy to produce aluminium. The plant, called Alnor, was purchased in whole by Hydro in 1973.
In 2000, Hydro acquired Wells Aluminum, a network of aluminium extrusion plants in the United States. [8] Two years later, the company acquired the leading German aluminium producer Vereinigte Aluminium Werke from the German utility company E.ON and the French building systems company Technal. [9]
Hydro became a truly integrated aluminium company in 2011, when it acquired the aluminium assets owned by Vale in Brazil for $4.9 billion. This gave Hydro the world's largest alumina refinery and aimed to "secure raw materials for more than a hundred years of aluminum production". Hydro gained a large bauxite supply, including control of the Paragominas mine, one of the largest bauxite mines in the world. It also gained large alumina refining and aluminum production capacity, including a 51 percent stake in the Albras aluminum plant and 91 percent ownership of Alunorte, then the world's largest alumina refinery and now the largest outside China. [10] [11]
In 1965, Hydro joined Elf Aquitaine and six other French companies to form Petronord to perform search for oil and gas in the North Sea. Hydro soon became a large company in the North Sea petroleum industry, and also became operator of a number of fields, the first being Oseberg.[ citation needed ]
In 1969, Hydro started its first international operations, with a 25% stake in a fertilizer plant in Qatar.[ citation needed ]
Hydro acquired in the late 1980s the Mobil service stations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, changing their name to Hydro. In 1995 Hydro merged its gas stations in Norway and Denmark with the Texaco, creating the joint venture HydroTexaco. The service station chain was sold in 2006 to Reitangruppen. In 1999 Hydro acquired Norway's third largest petroleum company Saga Petroleum, which had major upstream operations primarily in Norway and the United Kingdom. The British operations were later sold.
Hydro's fertilizer business was spun off as a separately stock-listed company under the name of Yara International on March 26, 2004. Hydro distributed all its Yara shares to Hydro's shareholders and presently has no ownership in Yara.
In December 2006 Norsk Hydro revealed a proposal to merge their oil business with compatriate oil and gas company Statoil. [12] Under the rules of the EEA the proposal was approved by the European Union on May 3, 2007 [13] and by the Norwegian Parliament on June 8, 2007. [14] The merger was completed by 1 October 2007. Hydro's shareholders took 32.7% of the new company—StatoilHydro—shares. [13]
Hydro is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. In Norway, Hydro has plants in Magnor, Rjukan, Raufoss, Vennesla, Karmøy, Høyanger, Årdal, Husnes, Sunndalsøra, and Holmestrand. Most of the employees in the company work in plants and offices located outside Norway, such as Hungary, Germany and Brazil. Hydro has more employees in the United States than any other Norwegian company.
In 2010, Hydro and QatarEnergy inaugurated their 50-50 joint venture Qatalum, located in Qatar. It was the largest aluminium plant ever launched in one step. Its annual capacity in September 2011 was 585,000 metric tons of primary aluminium, [15] all to be shipped as value added aluminium casthouse products. A 1350 MW natural gas power plant was also built to ensure a stable supply of electricity. [16]
In 2010, Hydro acquired the Brazilian bauxite, alumina and aluminium production assets of Vale, an international mining and metals company.
In September 2013, Hydro combined its aluminium extrusion operations with that of Sapa, making Sapa a 50/50 joint venture between Hydro and the Norwegian company Orkla. Hydro then acquired Orkla's 50% ownership in Sapa in October 2017, taking over the company and turning it into a new business area within Hydro, called Extruded Solutions. The agreed enterprise value for 100% of Sapa was NOK 27 billion. [17]
Hydro is a major producer of hydroelectric power in Norway.
To secure electricity for its aluminium production Hydro has signed a power purchase agreement with the Fosen Vind wind farm, which is scheduled to be fully operational in 2020. Under this agreement Fosen Vind will deliver around 0.6 TWh in 2020, around 1.0 TWh annually from 2021 to 2035 and 0.7 TWh annually from 2036 to 2039, for a total of about 18 TWh over a 20-year period. [18]
Though Hydro started off as a fertilizer producer and agricultural products was for a long time one of the companies major ventures, the agricultural division was in 2004 demerged into the independent company Yara International, listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Hydro Global Business Services was founded In 2020 to deliver Finance, IT, and HR services to all businesses within the Hydro company. The largest hub is in Székesfehérvár, Hungary. [19]
In February 2018 Hydro was forced to cut aluminium production by 50% in its plant located in Pará, Brazil (operated by the joint venture Albras). This followed allegations that untreated and contaminated water had been released to the environment, resulting in water pollution. A team of local researchers found a clandestine waste pipe and highly elevated levels of aluminum in its proximity. Other substances such as nitrate, sulphate, chloride and lead were also found at abnormally high concentrations. [20] Hydro has since claimed that while some unauthorized spills had happened, [21] their own and independent reports showed no environmental pollution of the river but only a small change in pH. [22]
Rjukan is a town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. The town is also the administrative centre of Tinn Municipality. The town is located in the Vestfjorddalen valley, between the lakes Møsvatn and Tinnsjå. The municipal council of Tinn declared town status for Rjukan in 1996. The town is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the west of the village of Miland and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the northwest of the village of Tuddal.
Elkem is a company that produces silicones, silicon, alloys for the foundry industry, carbon and microsilica, and other materials. Elkem was founded in 1904, has more than 7,000 employees and fields 30 production sites worldwide. Elkem has an operating income of NOK 33.7 billion. Elkem is responsible for a total of 2.52 million tonnes of scope 1 emissions in 2021. Elkem is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as well as complex and specialty mineral fertilizer products.
Samuel Eyde was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist. He was the founder of both Norsk Hydro and Elkem.
The Bratsberg Line is a 74-kilometre long (46 mi) railway line between Eidanger and Notodden in Telemark county, Norway. It opened in 1917, connecting the Tinnos Line, the Sørland Line and the Vestfold Line; allowing Norsk Hydro to transport fertilizer from their plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien. Since 1991 only passenger trains are operated, using Class 69 stock by Vy.
United Company RUSAL, international public joint-stock company is the world's second largest aluminium company by primary production output. It was the largest until overtaken by China Hongqiao Group in 2015. UC RUSAL accounts for almost 9% of the world's primary aluminium output and 9% of the world's alumina production.
The Rjukan Line, at first called the Vestfjorddal Line, was a 16-kilometre (10 mi) Norwegian railway line running through Vestfjorddalen between Mæl and Rjukan in Telemark county. The railway's main purpose was to transport chemicals from Norsk Hydro's plant at Rjukan to the port at Skien, in addition to passenger transport. At Mæl the wagons were shipped 30 kilometres (19 mi) on the Tinnsjø railway ferry to Tinnoset where they connected to the Tinnoset Line. The Rjukan Line and the ferries were operated by Norsk Transport, a subsidiary of Norsk Hydro.
The Tinnoset Line was a 30-kilometer (19 mi) long Norwegian railway line that went from Tinnoset to Notodden in Telemark county. The railway was part of the transport chain used to transport fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's factory in Rjukan to the port in Skien. The railway opened in 1909 and was closed when the plant closed in 1991. The railway is sometimes mistakenly believed to be part of the Rjukan Line.
Tinnsjø railway ferry was a Norwegian railway ferry service on Lake Tinn that connected the Rjukan Line and Tinnoset Line. The 30-kilometer (19 mi) long ferry trip made it possible for Norsk Hydro to transport its fertilizer from the plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien. The ferry services were operated by the company's subsidiary Norsk Transport from 1909 to 1991, when the plant closed.
SF Hydro was a Norwegian steam powered railway ferry that operated in the first half of the 20th century on Lake Tinn in Telemark. It connected with the Rjukan Line and Tinnoset Line, at Mæl and Tinnoset, operating between 1914 and 1944. The combined track and ferry service was primarily used to transport raw materials and fertilizer from Norsk Hydro's factory at Rjukan to the port in Skien. It was the target of a Norwegian operation on 20 February 1944, when resistance fighters sank the ferry in the deepest part of Lake Tinn to prevent Nazi Germany from receiving heavy water.
Herøya is a peninsula in Porsgrunn Municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunnekleivfjord to the east, at the mouth of Porsgrunn River. The name stems from the Old Norse word "her-eyjar" meaning an island (øya) with a horde or army (her), thus "the crowded island".
Hydro Extruded Solutions is a manufacturer of extruded aluminium profiles. Norsk Hydro announced in July 2017 that it would take full ownership of the 50/50 joint venture Sapa AS by buying the remaining 50 percent stake from conglomerate Orkla Group. The transaction was completed and Sapa was brought into Hydro ASA on October 2, 2017. According to Bloomberg, Sapa "falsified thousands of certifications for aluminum parts over 19 years for hundreds of customers, including NASA." In Extruded Solutions, Hydro has the largest global aluminium extrusion-based operation in the world, counting 100 production sites in more than 40 countries, and has 22,400 employees. Hydro's head office is located in Oslo, Norway.
Norsk Hydro Rjukan is an industrial facility operated by Norsk Hydro at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer, initially potassium nitrate from arc-produced nitric acid and later ammonia, hydrogen, and heavy water. The location was chosen for its vicinity to hydroelectric power plants built in the Måna river.
Thorleif Enger is a Norwegian businessperson and was Chief Executive Officer of Yara International. Enger was educated at the University of Colorado where he earned his PhD in Structural Engineering. He worked for Royal Dutch Shell until 1973, after which he moved to Norway to work for Norsk Hydro. He was director of the Oseberg oil field 1982–86, and from then until 1996 was president of the exploration and production division. He was then executive vice president of Hydro Oil and Gas until 1999, when he became executive vice president of Hydro Agri, and when this division was demerged to create Yara in 2004 he became its CEO. He announced his retirement in September 2008. Enger has been president of the International Fertilizer Industry Association, and has been a chairman or non-executive director of several boards, including Telenor, Spring Energy, HitecVision, and Marine Harvest. In 2010, Kapital named him one of the top ten business leaders in Norway after World War II.
The history of fertilizer has largely shaped political, economic, and social circumstances in their traditional uses. Subsequently, there has been a radical reshaping of environmental conditions following the development of chemically synthesized fertilizers.
Torstein Dale Sjøtveit is a Norwegian business executive. Torstein is currently executive chairman of Freyr AS, a Norwegian company aiming at establishing a 32 GWh Giga factory for lithium battery cells in Mo I Rana Norway.
The Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site is a World Heritage Site in Telemark county, Norway, created to protect the industrial landscape around Lake Heddalsvatnet and Vestfjorddalen valley. The landscape is centered on the plant built by the Norsk Hydro company to produce calcium nitrate fertilizer from atmospheric nitrogen using the Birkeland–Eyde process. The complex also includes hydroelectric power plants, railways, transmission lines, factories, and workers' accommodation and social institutions in the towns of Notodden and Rjukan.
Egil Olav Hogna is a Norwegian engineer and business executive. On 1 September 2015 he was appointed new CEO of Sapa Group, the world's largest aluminium processor with NOK 53 billion in turnover and 22,400 employees in 40 countries. Following Hydro's acquisition of Sapa in 2017, Sapa was integrated as Hydro's largest business area. Hogna led the Extruded Solutions business area from 2017 to 2020. On 1 December 2020, he took over as CEO of Norconsult. Hogna has a master's degree in Industrial Economics from NTNU in Trondheim. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a management education from Harvard Business School.
China Hongqiao Group Limited is a company founded in 1994 that specializes in the production of aluminium. Hongqiao is currently the second largest aluminium producer in the world after Chinalco. It is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with stock code 1378, and is incorporated in George Town, Cayman Islands.