Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth visited Elkem Carbon Fiskaa in Kristiansand for discussions on the process industry’s role in supplying critical raw materials to strategic value chains in Norway and the European Union (EU).
The visit follows the Ministry’s announcement that it is initiating a comprehensive mapping of the Norwegian industry’s contribution to national and allies’ strategic and critical value chains. Earlier this year, the Norwegian government issued a white paper outlining Norway’s industrial policy priorities and proposed a New Minerals Act that was approved by Parliament. The Act will streamline and modernize the legal framework for mineral activities in Norway. The two initiatives aim to strengthen Norway’s role as a sustainable and reliable long-term supplier of critical raw materials to European and allied industries.
“Norwegian companies such as Elkem are major suppliers of critical raw materials to Europe. In an era marked by escalating geopolitical tensions and environmental and climate challenges, the imperative to fortify strategic value chains has never been more critical to secure Europe’s competitiveness. Norway will be a strategic partner in this process,” said Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth.
“For over 120 years, Elkem has been a reliable supplier of metals and metallurgical products, steadily building resilient supply chains throughout Europe,” said Elkem CEO Helge Aasen. “Significant investments have been made to establish complete and efficient value chains within the ferroalloy and silicon sector in the internal market across the EU, Norway and Iceland. At a time of geopolitical turmoil and heightened security risks, it is important for European countries to unite and leverage existing assets and cross-border infrastructure to secure industrial autonomy.”
During her visit at Fiskaa, Myrseth was also presented some of the pioneering green technology projects being tested at Elkem Technology R&D Center. This included the Horizon Europe-funded project MECALO, which seeks to apply carbon looping for general metal production, with demonstration of zero CO2 silicon and manganese alloys. It also included a project on the development of green products through the recycling of slag and silicon materials, which could be used in the automotive and construction industry. This project was recently awarded NOK 32.8 million in financial support from Innovation Norway.
“It is a source of pride at Elkem that our products have among the lowest carbon footprint in the world. This requires significant investments into research and innovation. We were therefore excited to present some of our green technology projects that have received financial support from the EU and Norway. Such public-private partnerships are essential in accelerating the transition to clean technologies and turning decarbonization into a driver of growth for European industries,” said Aasen.