RHI has built one of the largest fusion plants for magnesia raw materials costing over 75M/Euros in Norway. In this fusion plant, magnesia obtained from sea water is converted to fused magnesia, a high grade refractory raw material. With a capacity of around 85,000/tpa, the plant is one of the largest worldwide. When fully functional, the plant will employ around 120 people. "The Porsgrunn location offers several advantages, including the infrastructure, the support of local politics and the energy costs in Norway. In addition, we have decades of experience, which gives us a very good command of the complex processes of obtaining magnesia from seawater. The construction of the fusion plant is one of the largest onshore investments in Norway in 5 years and is planned as a long-term investment," said plant manager Roger Gravdal. RHI acquired the plant in Porsgrunn and a second raw material plant in Drogheda (Ireland) in 2012. Both plants are based on the extraction of magnesia from sea water.
