Hydro Annual Report 2011b

68
vIABIlItY perForMAnCe
Innovation
Hydro Recognition Program
The objective of the Hydro Recognition Program is to energize all
employees by recognizing excellent work and best-practice sharing.
The winner is an organization or a team that has demonstrated
outstanding effort within the areas of HSE, innovation or
performance. Winners should clearly demonstrate the spirit of The
Hydro Way, emphasizing the values of Hydro in the way they work.
The first winners of the Hydro Recognition Program will be selected
in 2012. The program replaces the President’s HSE Award and
Hydro Innovation Award.
We reviewed our R&D organization in 2011. Starting in
2012, all business areas will be responsible for their own technology
development and execution of their respective technology
strategies. As part of the new organizational model, a
corporate technology office has been established to ensure a
holistic and long-term approach to Hydro’s technology strategy
and agenda. The technology office will lead an internal
R&D network with representatives from the business areas,
and support the corporate management board in developing
overall research and technology priorities and strategies.
Metal production moving forward
We intend to make production more efficient and to secure the
necessary access to alumina and electrical power. Improvement
efforts revolve around smelter technology and the positioning of
new capacity in locations where there is a surplus of power.
Hydro’s proprietary electrolytic process is one of the most efficient
in the world. The primary aluminium plants in Sunndal,
Norway and Qatalum, Qatar are using the newest technology.
Our next-generation technology, HAL4e, is ready for use the
next time we build an aluminium plant, having proven that it
can produce primary aluminium with a specific
Powerhouse alliance
The Powerhouse alliance was founded in 2011. The alliance is
aiming to build the world’s northernmost energy-positive building
– a building that produces more energy than it consumes during
operation – in Norway. In addition to Hydro, the alliance includes
the real estate firm Entra Eiendom, the developer Skanska, the
architecture firm Snøhetta and the environmental NGO Zero. The
ambition is to demonstrate that it is possible to develop energypositive
buildings not only in warm climates, but in colder climates
like Norway. Since the alliance was formed, Powerhouse has
started working on two projects in Norway, one rehabilitation project
and one new building. The rehabilitation project is located in the
municipality of Bærum, just outside Oslo, while the new building is
being developed further north, in Trondheim. Eventually, Powerhouse
will build more energy-positive buildings in Norway and abroad.
Powerhouse is therefore interested in establishing contact with
anyone who owns projects or possesses the expertise needed to
expand the development of energy-positive buildings.
The Co-creation Program
In 2011, we established the Co-creation Program, which aims at
securing value creation and the voice of technology throughout
Hydro’s value chain. Eleven employees from different parts of Hydro
are educated to contribute to innovation management competence.
The program includes different tools, with participants trained
to support colleagues working in functions such as technology
development, product development and business development.
The participants represent a diverse professional background and
six nationalities. Two of the participants are female. The Co-creation
Program aims to develop healthy and down-to-earth innovative work
practices that can be utilized across Hydro.
energy consumption of 12.5 kWh/kg aluminium. We are now
developing this technology further. HALsee – or HAL super
energy efficient – is targeting a maximum of 12 kWh/kg aluminium.
We are emphasizing cell productivity as well as reduced
energy consumption and climate-gas emissions from the production
process.
R&D in our Primary Metal business is important to strengthening
competitiveness by improving the cost position at our metal
plants. Prioritized tasks are operational support, implementation
of new technology in existing activities and the development
of next-generation electrolysis technology. Because energy
constitutes from one-third to half of total production costs,
energy efficiency is one of the most important ways to reduce
costs, while at the same time reducing the climate footprint.
Our casthouses focus on process efficiency in terms of
improved capacity utilization and process capability. The continuous
improvement of product quality is an important part
of our business concept, and is strongly linked to technical
customer service. We develop our products together with customers,
listening to their needs while improving our own casthouse
processes.
Creating something unique
“The Powerhouse Project is a source of inspiration for us, partly
because the project is unusual and partly because the composition
of partners is unusual. Together we have defined a common goal
and everyone has strived to provide good input at an early stage
of the project. Contact with Hydro, even before the project was
established, has also provided inspiration. In Norway we lack
experience from these types of projects, but Hydro has been able
to deliver this and in doing so has made everyone more certain that
we will actually succeed.”
Ole Gustavsen,
Partner, Snøhetta
Read full interview at www.hydro.com/reporting2011