Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry visits Elkem Fiskaa
On Monday 15 November, Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre visited Elkem Fiskaa in Kristiansand in the southern part of Norway. The visit included a tour of Elkem’s industrial production of carbon solutions for the global market, piloting of advanced battery materials and R&D for future solutions.
“The Norwegian government wants to help create profitable and attractive jobs throughout the country, increase green investments, strengthen exports from the Norwegian mainland and cut greenhouse gas emissions based on active industry policies and strong partnerships with industry and businesses. One of our goals is to increase exports from mainland Norway by 50 percent and cut emissions by 55 percent within this decade,” says Jan Christian Vestre, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry.
Fiskaa forms an important foundation for the business that Elkem is today. The plant is where the almost 100-year-old Söderberg electrode was invented. Elkem Carbon at Fiskaa is still one of the world’s largest producers of inputs to this technology, which is still being used by about 70% of the world’s smelting plants.
“Elkem’s activities at Fiskaa are good examples of how we can provide high value exports from Norway to the global market, develop new green industry within energy technology and carry out advanced research and development for future solutions, through dedicated efforts by ambitious private companies like Elkem as well as public-private partnerships with the Norwegian government.”
“Elkem aims to be part of the solution to combat climate change – and to be one of the winners in the green transition. Our mission is to provide advanced material solutions shaping a better and more sustainable future. At the same time, companies like Elkem depend on competitive framework conditions to make this happen. We highly appreciate this visit by Minister Vestre and look forward to continued dialogue and action to realise our joint ambitions – with speed and scale,” says Håvard Moe, Elkem’s senior vice president for Technology, welcomed Minister Vestre at the plant.
Elkem also operates an industrial pilot plant for advanced battery materials through its subsidiary Vianode. The aim of the pilot is to conclude process route and qualify products, as a basis for evaluating full-scale industrial production. The pilot has been granted funding from Innovation Norway supporting the establishment.
Research and development is also a key focus at Fiskaa, where Elkem has over 10 000 square meters of advanced pilot testing facilities, laboratories and workshops. This includes the Future Materials Norwegian Catapult Centre, a national test and development centre that offer test facilities, competence and a professional network for developing sustainable advanced materials and circular solutions for your products and processes. The catapult centre is a collaboration between Elkem, ReSiTec, Arendals Fossekompani and the University of Agder.