ALRO Slatina is temporarily shutting down its alumina production facility, ALUM Tulcea, due to prohibitive power and natural gases prices.
ALUM, the only calcinated refinery located in Romania, faces dramatic competitive challenges in front of other European and international alumina refineries.
Around 500 employees are to be laid off at the Tulcea plant in the current context, while the plant will keep a key group of specialists to be ready for a quick restart and ramp up of the production when the energy market conditions will improve.
The alumina produced by ALUM, would reach a cost of more than 900 USD/tonne, while the price of alumina on the international markets is around 500 USD/tonne, said Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of ALRO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALUM
The gas price on the Romanian market increased ten times – from 18 EUR/MWh in Q1 2021 it reached and exceeded quotations of 180 EUR/MWh in Q4 2022.
Also, local electricity price increased from 60 EUR/MWh in Q1 2021 and reached and exceeded quotations of 500 EUR/MWh in Q4 2022.