Heavy Industries in Iceland
The first industrial project based on hydropower in Iceland involved a plant for the production of nitrogen fertilizer for the domestic market. The Fertilizer Plant Inc. (formerly the State Fertilizer Plant), which is located in Gufunes near Reykjavík, started production based on electrolysis of water in 1954. The power requirements of the plant of about 140 GWh per year were supplied by the Írafoss power plant on the River Sog, which was completed at the same time. The installed capacity of the Írafoss plant reached 31 MW at that time, of which 20 MW, or about two-thirds, were needed to service the Fertilizer Plant. This combined project, a major undertaking at the time, was mainly financed through Marshall Aid, and it brought valuable operating experience in power-intensive industry with it.
Negotiations started with prospective partners for the next industrial project in the early sixties, and in 1966 a contract was signed with Alusuisse of Switzerland to build in Straumsvík, a short distance from the township of Hafnarfjörður, a two-potroom aluminium smelter with a capacity of 60,000 tonnes of aluminium per year requiring about 120 MW of continuous power. Over the years the production facilities have been extended and improved, and by 1998 production capacity had reached approximately 160,000 t.p.y. To supply the smelter, the National Power Company of Iceland (Landsvirkjun), established in 1965, was to build a 210 MW hydro plant, the Búrfell power plant, on the River Þjórsá.
The Site of Íslenska álfélagið - Alcan in Straumsvík, near Hafnarfjörður
Source: Íslenska álfélagið
In the beginning of the seventies it was decided to construct the Sigalda hydrpower plant upstream from Búrfell, with a capacity of 150 MW, to provide for an enlarged industrial market. Due to the size of the power plant and other considerations such as further diversification of Iceland's exports, ferro alloys appeared to offer a more promising proposition than aluminium. In 1976, an agreement was reached between the Icelandic government and Elkem A/S of Norway to build a 55,000-tonne ferrosilicon plant, with the government holding 55% of the shares. In 1984 the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan took over 15% of the shares, and Elkem's share was reduced by a corresponding amount, while Icelandic participation remained the same. The plant is located in the western part of the country on the north shore of Hvalfjörður, about 17 km from the town of Akranes. A new harbour was built capable of handling bulk carriers of about 20,000 DWt in the first stage. The plant, which now has a maximum annual capacity of 70,000 tonnes of 75% ferrosilicon, was commissioned in 1979. Production in 1998 amounted to 61,100tonnes.
As preparations were under way for the Búrfell hydropower plant and the aluminium smelter in Straumsvík, another project based on another natural power resource, geothermal energy, was being contemplated in northern Iceland.. Preparations for the building of the diatomite filter-aids plant of Kísiliðjan Ltd. began in the summer of 1965. The plant processes filter-aids out of deposits found at the bottom of Lake Mývatn in Northern Iceland and uses large quantities of natural steam from the neighbouring geothermal fields of Námaskarð in the process. Representing the first large-scale application of natural steam for industrial purposes in Iceland, the plant started production in late 1968, with an initial capacity of 12,000 tonnes per year, which would later be increased. In 1994 the plant produced 25,000 tonnes, which were exported mainly to European markets.
The Site of Norðurál - Nordic Aluminum in Hvalfjörður
Source: Norðurál
Nordic Aluminium (Norðurál) is another aluminium-smelter company that began operations in 1998. Located in Hvalfjörður, it has a 60,000 ton capacity.
Adapted from "Iceland - The Republic", Handbook published by the Central Bank of Iceland, ed. by Mr. Jóhannes Nordal and Mr. Valdimar Kristinsson, Reykjavik 1996. The Ministry is responsible for the adapted texts.
