Norsk Hydro's Slovak aluminium smelter to partially restart production (updated)

Norsk Hydro ASA

01/07/2026 10:39

    * 175,000 tpy Slovalco smelter has been shut since 2022
    * Restart is for 75,000 tpy; remainder could follow after
2030
    * Agreement includes 10-year hydropower supply contract

 (Adds comments from Hydro CEO, Slovak prime minister)
    By Tom Daly
    LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) - Norsk Hydro  NHY.OL  said on
Wednesday its Slovalco aluminium joint venture had reached an
agreement with the Slovak government to partially restart
production after a four-year shutdown, including a new long-term
power supply contract.
    The deal paves the way for the restart of 75,000 metric tons
per year of smelting capacity, with production expected to
resume in the fourth quarter of 2026, Hydro said.
    Restoring the remaining 100,000 tons of capacity would
depend on conditions beyond 2030 and additional power contracts,
it added.
    The resumption of primary aluminium production at the plant,
in Ziar nad Hronom in central Slovakia, would be a boost for the
European market, which has been left short of metal by the
closure of the Mozal smelter in Mozambique, the EU's new carbon
tax and war-driven supply constraints in the Gulf.
    Slovalco – owned 55.3% by Norway's Hydro and 44.7% by
Central Europe-focused Penta Investments Group – was forced to
stop primary aluminium production in September 2022 as high
power prices left the joint venture facing financial losses. 
    The deal sets out the "long-term framework conditions" for
aluminium production, including a power purchase pact with
state-owned hydropower utility Vodohospodarska Vystavba and a
compensation scheme for indirect carbon costs under the EU
Emissions Trading System (ETS), Hydro said.
    
     CUTTING IMPORT DEPENDENCE 
     Slovalco will invest €100 million ($114 million) to resume
operations, which will support more than 200 jobs, it added
after a signing ceremony in Bratislava on Wednesday.
    "With a production capacity of 175,000 tons per year,
Slovalco has the potential to restore a meaningful share of the
EU's domestic primary aluminium production," Hydro CEO Eivind
Kallevik said in a statement.
    "Restarting the smelter will strengthen Europe's industrial
resilience, reduce dependence on imports and supply European
customers with aluminium carrying significantly lower carbon
emissions than the global average," he added.
    In a televised press conference, Slovakia's Prime Minister
Robert Fico described Slovalco as a strategic supplier to the
country's automotive industry and blamed its long absence on
"overly ambitious" EU climate targets. 
    These had led to higher aluminium imports from China, where
the metal is produced with a greater environmental impact, Fico
said, adding that Slovalco's power supply contract was for 10
years. 
     
($1=0.8777 euros)


($1 = 0.8775 euros)

 (Reporting by Tom Daly; Additional reporting by Jan Lopatka;
Editing by Elaine Hardcastle, Clarence Fernandez and Louise
Heavens)
 ((Tom.Daly@thomsonreuters.com;))