Norsk Hydro
Chairman) | |
Products | Aluminium and related products; hydropower and solar power technologies |
---|---|
Revenue | NOK 109,220 million (2017)[1] |
NOK 11,215 million (2017)[1] | |
NOK 9,184 million (2017)[1] | |
Total assets | NOK 163,327 million (2017)[1] |
Number of employees | 35,000 (end 2017)[2] |
Website | hydro |
Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just Hydro) is a
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).
History
First steps with fertiliser
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
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.
Heavy water production at Rjukan
The Rjukan plant was the only location in
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.
First metal production
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.
During the
In 1946 the Årdal aluminium plant was opened, operated by the state owned company
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
Into the petroleum age
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
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
Operations
Aluminium
Hydro is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. In Norway, Hydro has plants in
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
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
Energy
Hydro is a major producer of
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]
Hydro Agri
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
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]
Environmental issues
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]
Chief Executive Officers
- 1905–1917 Sam Eyde
- 1918–1926 Harald Bjerke
- 1926–1941 Axel Aubert
- 1941–1956 Bjarne Eriksen
- 1956–1967 Rolf Østbye
- 1967–1977 Johan B. Holte
- 1977–1984 Odd Narud
- 1984–1991 Torvild Aakvaag
- 1991–2001 Egil Myklebust
- 2001–2009 Eivind Reiten
- 2009–2019 Svein Richard Brandtzæg
- 2019– Hilde Merete Aasheim
References
- ^ a b c d "OTC Markets - Official site of OTCQX, OTCQB and Pink Markets". Otcmarkets.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Annual Report 2017" (PDF). Hydro.com. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
- ^ "Top Ten Alumina Companies in the World". alcircle.com. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
- ^ "Key figures". Archived from the original on 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2018-05-11.
- ^ "Svein Richard Brandtzæg - Hydro Internet". 15 April 2008. Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ a b Rhodes, Richard (1986). The Making of the Atomic Bomb. Simon & Schuster. pp. 327-329.
- ^ a b c "Nazi-Tysklands venner – Mange prominente herrer tjente store penger på tysk samarbeid under krigen. Etterpå gikk de fri, mens «tyskertøsene» ble jaget" [Nazi Germany's friends – Many prominent gentlemen earned great sums through cooperation with Germans during the war. Afterwards they walked free, while the "German girls" became hunted] (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2014-10-06.
- ^ Hydro, Norsk (2000-01-24). "Hydro acquires Wells Aluminium Corporation". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ "2002: VAW – a dream comes true". www.hydro.com. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ Solsvik, Terje; Moskwa, Wojciech (2010-05-02). "Hydro secures bauxite supply in $4.9 bln Vale deal". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ "Glencore announces the acquisition of equity stakes in Mineracão Rio do Norte S.A. and Alunorte S.A. from Norsk Hydro ASA". www.glencore.com. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
- ^ Hydro's oil and gas activities to merge with Statoil[permanent dead link], Norsk Hydro, published 2006-12-18, accessed 2007-06-20
- ^ a b EU regulators approve Statoil, Norsk Hydro merger, EU Business, published 2007-05-03, accessed 2007-06-20
- ^ Norwegian Parliament Okays Statoil-Hydro Merger Archived 2007-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, Ocean-Resources, published 2007-06-11, accessed 2007-06-20
- ^ "Qatalum at full production". Qatalum.com. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "Qatar Aluminium (Qatalum)". Qp.com.qa. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
- ^ "News". Hydro.com. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ^ "Norsk Hydro: Hydro signs new long-term power contract for Norwegian aluminium portfolio". Hydro.com. 2016-02-23. Archived from the original on 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Global Business Services". www.hydro.com. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
- ^ Phillips, Dom (2018-03-16). "Pollution, illness, threats and murder: is this Amazon factory the link?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- ^ "Norway's Hydro says Brazil plant made unauthorized spills". Reuters.com. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
- ^ "Norsk Hydro Internal Task Force – Executive summary" (PDF). Hydro.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
External links
- Official website
- "Die Akte Alu - ARTE". 26 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2019.