The newly developed management system will cement Hydro Årdal’s position as a low carbon aluminum producer, Hydro wrote in a press release.
The management system has been developed by the Årdal technology community and will provide more efficient management of aluminum production. Together with the upgrade of equipment on electrolysis cells, the technology has contributed to increased production, reduced energy consumption and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The savings will be about 6 million NOK per year.
Reduces energy consumption
It’s inspiring that Hydro Årdal can make the production of a very important material even better. With this investment, we reduce electricity consumption equivalent to the consumption of more than 400 households in Norway and CO2 emissions by 1,500 tons. This technology can later be used in a variety of businesses and will provide significant efficiency improvements, Hydro Årdal plant manager Wenche Eldegard says in the press release.
The control system will be installed on one of Ardal’s two electrolytic lines, and will start operating in 2022. The first cells will be ready with the new control system during 2023, and will pioneer all of Hydro’s aluminum work.
future-oriented technology
– HAL5000 is a 5th generation control system developed in Ardal’s world-leading technology environment. Decades of experience, mathematical models and data analytics built into a system that provides the most efficient production management. The update opens the door to including more elements of new technology and increased data capture, which is limited in the current control system, says Gere Sandnes, head of digital production support at Hydro Aluminum Metal.
In recent years Hydro has invested heavily in the Norwegian aluminum business. Since 2017 alone, Hydro has invested more than 700 million DKK in Ardal, in addition to the new management system.
Despite difficult times in Europe and weak markets for aluminum, we have long-term ambitions in Norway and in the aluminum plant, something symbolized by several major updates at the plant. By investing in Ardal, we are improving ourselves over the coming decades in Ardal, with the latest technology and digitalization in the aluminum industry, says Winch Eldgaard.
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