Hydro forced to temporarily reduce primary aluminum production in Germany; impact seems negligible

Repairs needed for a damaged structure at Hydro's Neuss plant in Germany, production losses could range between 10-20 kmton.

A pipe incident at Hydro's Neuss smelter forced the temporary curtailment of aluminum production. Specifically, Norsk Hydro reported today that a pipe fell on the roof of an electrolysis hall and damaged a structure at its Neuss smelter in Germany. To fix the structure, the company will temporarily curtail some production and would restart it once the structure is repaired.

Hydro's early estimates suggest an aluminum production loss of 10-20 kmton. Prior to the incident, the primary aluminum smelter operated at 70% of its capacity (235 kmtpy)-equivalent to a production run-rate of around 160 kmtpy, which is mainly in the form of slab.