Norwegian aluminum manufacturer Norsk Hydro is no longer investing in the battery and green hydrogen business and will discontinue these operations due to challenging market conditions, the company said on Wednesday.
As part of efforts to focus on green aluminum, Hydro is launching a new cost-cutting program aiming to save 6.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($582 million) by 2030, with the aim of strengthening its operations of aluminum recycling and extrusion by 2030.
“Battery materials and green hydrogen will no longer be strategic areas of growth for Hydro and no additional resources will be allocated,” the company said in a statement.
Hydro said it would continue to support battery recycler Hydrovolt as an industrial owner, liaising closely with its recycling business and strategic partners.
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Last month, the company said it was now the sole funder of the joint venture created with Sweden’s Northvolt in 2020.
Northvolt, once hailed as Europe’s best opportunity to become a national champion of electric vehicle batteries, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, so-called “chapter 11”, last week after the failure negotiations with investors and creditors, including Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs, to obtain financing.
Hydro’s aluminum volumes have fallen in Europe this year, hit by lower electric vehicle production resulting from the unexpected end of electric vehicle subsidies in Germany and looming EU tariffs on imports of Chinese products.
