Europe’s Energy Crisis Risks Slashing Aluminum Production Further
- A third of smelters are losing money and more may close: CFO
- A million tons of smelting capacity are at risk of closing
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Norsk Hydro ASA issued a fresh warning over the grave threat that Europe’s energy crunch poses to aluminum supply, saying the heavy slate of production cutbacks seen so far is at risk of doubling over the winter months.
Aluminum is one of the most energy-intensive metals to make, and the surge in power prices already knocked about 900,000 tons of smelting capacity offline in Europe and North America over the past two years, Chief Financial Officer Pal Kildemo said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. With more than a third of smelters globally currently losing money, there’s a risk that another 1 million tons of capacity will be curtailed.