Economical and environmentally friendly
A new billet casthouse adds to the value of our product without increasing aluminum production. Value-added production, which until now has taken place abroad, is being moved to Iceland. By using Icelandic energy, the carbon footprint of the production is significantly smaller than if it were to take place abroad.
Aluminum billets
In the new casthouse, aluminum billets are produced. The billets are cylindrical shapes made from aluminum that are shaped through extrusion. Aluminum billets are in high demand from European customers, as aluminum is a key material in the production of, for example, electric vehicles, solar panels, aircraft, and environmentally friendly buildings. By producing aluminum billets, Norðurál is therefore moving closer to its customers while also bringing value-added production to Iceland.
Smaller carbon footprint
Norðurál uses Icelandic energy in all its production, but until now our aluminum ingots have been melted into billets in Europe, where electricity production has a significantly larger carbon footprint than in Iceland. No additional CO2 is released through billet production in Iceland and the power requirements are significantly lower than if they were produced abroad. We calculate the power savings to be around 40%.
The project
The project called for an investment of 120 million USD. Due to the significant positive environmental impacts of the project, it received green financing from Arion Bank.
In short
With a billet casthouse at Grundartangi the majority of aluminum produced by Norðurál will be in high-value products, such as billets and alloys.
In short:
Investment: 120 million USD
Jobs during construction: 80-90 for two years
Permanent new jobs after construction: 40
Increase in export revenues: 20-30 million USD
Increased electric consumption: 10 MW
Increased energy efficiency: 40%