The agreement was signed by Hydro’s President & CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim, and NTNU’s Chief academic and administrative officer Anne Borg, during a gathering between key Hydro technologists, NTNU professors and SINTEF researchers in Trondheim.

Hydro and NTNU have a long tradition for collaboration within education, research and development, and already have a broad project co-operation. NTNU is also an important recruitment base for Hydro.

“Earlier this year I signed a similar strategic collaboration agreement with SINTEF, the research institute in Trondheim. With this new agreement we further strengthen our collaboration and confirm the importance of the environment around NTNU within the technology area,” says Hilde Merete Aasheim.

“Hydro and NTNU both recognize the importance of ensuring long-term sustainability in accordance with the United Nations’ sustainability goals and wish to promote collaboration to enable this. We both have the shared intention to strengthen, explore and increase the cooperation in connection with Hydro's technology strategy and climate ambitions of becoming a net-zero company by 2050, and to NTNU's strategy and contribution to a sustainable future,” says Aasheim.

Key areas of collaboration will be decarbonization of the aluminium value chain, recycling of aluminium, alloy competence, product development competence, utilization of digital tools and technologies for secure and safe operations, battery and hydrogen technology, and renewable energy production and electrification.

“NTNU and SINTEF are our most important collaboration partners and our most important recruitment base within the technology area. The agreement will help us strengthen our ambitions to be a more sustainable and profitable company. In practice, the key strategic discussions will be performed in groups with involvement from our research organizations. The groups we have defined so far cover Aluminium Upstream (primary production including bauxite and alumina), Aluminium Downstream (casting, recycling and extrusion) and Energy,” says Hydro’s Chief Technology Officer, Hans Erik Vatne.