Fjarðaál Aluminum Smelter

  
Over the years, Bechtel has worked in some 140 countries. But until recently, the company had never undertaken a project in Iceland.

That changed in 2003, when Alcoa asked Bechtel to build a 346,000-tonne-per-year aluminum smelter on Iceland’s eastern coast. The Fjarðaál project, which began operation in June 2007, is Alcoa’s first new primary smelter in 20 years—and Bechtel’s first experience in this island nation near the Arctic Circle. At the budgeted cost, it also is the largest private investment in Iceland’s history.

The smelter is considered among the safest and most sustainable facilities of its type. It was designed with "zero waste" in mind. Early and careful planning enabled the reuse or recycling of more than 90 percent of construction waste, thus diverting it from landfill. The smelter produces no water emissions, and waste-heat is used to melt snow and heat buildings.  As a result of these efforts, the project earned Iceland's highest environmental award, the Conch. 

Fjarðaál (Icelandic for “aluminum of the fjords”) is an eight-hour drive or a one-hour flight from Reykjavik. The biggest natural challenges facing the Fjarðaál team were the remote location of the site, and winds that can exceed 140 kilometers per hour, shutting down crane operations and other work. Bechtel couldn't stop the wind, but it did find a workaround. The project plan included a high degree of assembly on the ground and preassembled modules. Even some entire buildings were preassembled then put in place as weather conditions allowed. And shifting work off the site also enabled the project to reduce construction costs.

The project consisted of a 336-pot potline, a rodding shop, the casthouse, heat recovery and water treatment plants, and related utilities and administration facilities. The 382,000-ton-per-year smelter produced its first aluminum in April 2007.