Norway's Hydro invests $156 million in new aluminium wire facility

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Norwegian aluminium producer Hydro said on Friday it will invest 1.65 billion crowns ($156.29 million) in a new facility at its aluminium smelter in Karmoy, Norway, to supply aluminium wire for power cables in Europe.

The new wire rod casthouse in Karmoy will have a capacity of 110,000 tonnes per year, Hydro said in a statement.

Completion of the casthouse is scheduled for the first quarter of 2028 and production is expected to start the same year, according to Hydro.

"By expanding the capacity to deliver low-carbon aluminium from Norway to the EU, we help ensure that the infrastructure, the very backbone of the future energy system, supports both Europe's security and climate policy goals," Hydro CEO Eivind Kallevik said.

Norway currently accounts for 40 percent of the aluminium produced in Europe, the company added.

($1 = 10.5570 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)