Invest in Iceland Agency is run by the Trade Council of Iceland and the Ministry of Industry.

Energy intensive industries

Iceland is the only country in Western Europe that still has considerable resources of competitively priced, renewable energy remaining to be harnessed. Only one third of the country's energy potential will be tapped by the end of 2010.

Hydropower and geothermal energy are the sources of Iceland's uniquely sustainable electricity generating capacity. These environmentally-friendly, green resources, produce electricity without harmful atmospheric emissions. The country's state-of-the-art energy infrastructure is highly ranked on international business indices for reliability, efficiency and cost.

Energy resources
Total viable electric power potential is now estimated at 50,000 GWh/yr. In 2010, only 16,000 GWh/yr (32%) of this power had been harnessed.

Geothermal steam with a pressure of up to 20 bar and temperatures up to 250°C will be harvested in the near future. This development will have a huge impact on steam-consuming industries once the source comes on line.

Power Sources

Aluminium industry
Using electricity generated by hydropower instead of coal can help aluminium producers cut total CO2 emissions by up to 90% per ton compared with electricity supplies from coal-fired power stations.

Iceland's first aluminium smelter was built in the late 1960s by Alusuisse. Industrial development continued through the 1970s with the construction of a ferrosilicon plant by Icelandic Alloys Ltd.

A recent wave of large-scale industrial projects has seen expansion and the installation of new facilities. The capacity of the ferro-silicon plant has increased by 60%. The Nordurál smelter was built in a record time in 2001 and its annual capacity was increased to 90,000 tonnes. Alcan's smelter has been expanded by more than 60%.

Energy intensive industries

further information