Year in Brief

Qatalum’s first metal – “A great achievement”

(December 21, 2009) December 20 – the first cell in Qatalum started production of primary aluminium.

Hydro divests rolling mill in Spain

(December 2, 2009) Hydro has entered into an agreement to divest its aluminium rolling mill in Irurtzun, Spain, to the German industrial holding company Bavaria Industriekapital AG.

Capital Markets Day 2009: Hydro steps up upstream repositioning efforts

(December 2, 2009) Hydro is intensifying efforts to improve its competitive position by launching new cost-reduction measures, following a year of demanding markets and decisive corrective actions. Hydro’s improvement efforts have resulted in positive downstream earnings, while upstream activities remain challenged by the weak aluminium market and a strong Norwegian krone.

Hydro opens recycling center at Alunorf plant

(November 12, 2009) Hydro, Europe's leading aluminium company, today opened a new 50,000-tonne remelting facility at the Alunorf plant in Neuss, Germany. This brings Hydro's total recycling capacity in Germany to 150,000 tonnes of high-quality aluminium and helps to reduce carbon emissions.

Third quarter 2009: Results reflect continued weak markets, volumes rise on restocking

(October 27, 2009) Hydro had an underlying loss before financial items and tax of NOK 793 million in the third quarter, compared with a loss of NOK 618 million in the previous quarter, reflecting the frail global economy, low aluminium prices and a weakening U.S. dollar.

Hydro divests automotive structures activities

(October 27, 2009) Norsk Hydro ASA has entered into an agreement to divest its automotive structures business to Benteler Automobiltechnik GmbH, the automotive division of the large German industrial enterprise Benteler Group with headquarters in Paderborn, Germany.

New CEO in Qatalum

(October 22, 2009) Jan Arve Haugan, most recently head of Hydro’s international aluminium smelter portfolio, will become the new CEO of Qatalum in Qatar when Truls Gautesen steps down after four years in the project to build one of the world’s most cost-efficient aluminium plants.

Hydro steps up aluminium recycling

(October 16, 2009) Roland Scharf-Bergmann joins Hydro to lead and support its common activities in aluminium recycling, an area in which Hydro is evaluating further investments.

Qatalum construction work 90 percent finished

(September 28, 2009) Most elements forming Qatalum, the large aluminium plant being constructed in Qatar, are now in place.

On top of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes

(September 4, 2009) Hydro scores highest among aluminium companies in this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) ranking – for the fourth year in a row.

Hydro to supply extruded aluminium frames for world's first hybrid solar facility

(July 28, 2009) Hydro in North America has signed an agreement with Florida Power & Light (FPL) to supply custom aluminium extrusions for the first hybrid solar/fossil fuel energy-generating facility in the world.

Second quarter 2009: Solid cash flow and cost savings, markets remain weak

(July 22, 2009) Hydro had an underlying loss before financial items of NOK 618 million in the second quarter, compared with a NOK 493 million loss in the first quarter, as the weak global economy continued to weigh on historically low aluminium markets.

Hydro opens energy-neutral building in Germany

(June 23, 2009) Hydro, Europe’s leading aluminium company and a global supplier of advanced building systems, opened an energy-neutral building in Ulm in southern Germany on Tuesday, showcasing its latest technologies for more energy-efficient buildings.

Økokrim will not investigate Libya case

(May 15, 2009) The Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime (Økokrim) has decided not to open an investigation of the so-called Libya case.

Hydro executive to chair UN building initiative

(May 11, 2009) Hydro's Birgitte Holter has been selected to chair the United Nations Environment Program's Sustainable Buildings and Climate change Initiative. "We want to put buildings high on the post-Kyoto negotiations agenda," she says.

Cave-in at Hydro power plant claims two lives

(May 10, 2009) Two subcontractor employees were killed on Saturday in a cave-in during work on a tunnel at Hydro's hydroelectric power plant in western Norway.

Economic downturn leads to first-quarter losses

(April 29, 2009) Hydro had an underlying loss before financial items of NOK 493 million in the first quarter of 2009, down from an underlying EBIT of NOK 868 million in the previous quarter. The results reflect the deepening global economic downturn, with historically low aluminium prices and a further fall in already weak downstream markets.

A century on the Oslo stock exchange

(April 16, 2009) It is 100 years today since Hydro was first listed on the stock exchange. Shares in the company were first traded on the stock exchange in Kristiania, as Oslo was then called, on April 16, 1909. Later that year the share was also listed on the stock exchanges of Brussels, Geneva and Paris.

Hydro to close precision tubing plant in Michigan

(March 31, 2009) Hydro has decided to consolidate its aluminium precision tubing operations in North America as result of the extremely challenging situation in the automotive industry, and will consequently close its aluminium tubing plant in Michigan.

Hydro curtails aluminium production at Sunndal

(March 26, 2009) Hydro has decided to temporary close the oldest production line at its Sunndal plant, representing an annual production of about 100,000 tonnes. The closure is a result of the demanding market situation for aluminium.

Ascent Solar opens new plant

March 25, 2009) Ascent Solar Technologies, which is 35-percent owned by Hydro, opened a new production facility and headquarters near Denver, Colorado, in the U.S. on March 24.

Temporary production shutdown at Alpart

(March 18, 2009) Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) has announced plans to temporarily shut down production from May 15 due to the unprecedented fall in global aluminium markets and corresponding drop in alumina demand.

Last day for Søderberg technology in Hydro

(March 13, 2009) On Friday, March 13, at 09.01 am, the power in the Søderberg potroom at the aluminium plant at Karmøy in Norway was switched off. This marks the end of production in the very last electrolytic cell in Hydro to use the old Søderberg technology.