The Norwegian multinational company Norsk Hydro, domiciled in Oslo, has commissioned Uhde GmbH in Dortmund with the construction of a chlor-alkali electrolysis plant with a capacity of 130,000 tonnes/year of chlorine and 146,000 tonnes/year of caustic soda solution. The chlorine will be further processed into the chemical intermediates EDC and vinyl chloride within the group itself and the caustic soda will be sold on the world market.

The contract is worth some 80 million euros. The plant is to be built at Rafnes on the south-western coast of Norway.

Uhde will be building the plant on a turnkey basis, i.e. the scope of services comprises the engineering, supply of equipment, construction work and supervision of the commissioning process. Completion of the plant is scheduled for June 2005.

The plant will be based on Uhde`s proven single-cell membrane technology which is extremely energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

Uhde is one of the world`s leading engineering companies in the field of membrane technology, having installed the process in plants with a total annual capacity of some 4.7 million tonnes/year of caustic soda solution.

Uhde is a company in the Technologies segment of the ThyssenKrupp Group and has a workforce of 3,500 employees worldwide. The company`s activities focus on the design and construction of chemical and other industrial plants in the following fields: fertilisers, organic chemicals and plastics, electrolysis, oil, gas and refining technology and pharmaceuticals.

Contact:
Uhde GmbH
Horst Gieseler
Phone: +49 2 31 5 47 20 35
Fax +49 2 31 5 47 26 28
E-Mail: GieselerH@tkt-uhde.thyssenkrupp.com