A history of innovation

Sam Eyde, one of the founders of Norsk Hydro, here pictured at Notodden, Norway, in 1908.

Hydro’s history is a journey of evolution, spanning more than a century, many industries and several continents. Through it all, three characteristics have remained consistent: the spirit of entrepreneurship, a dedication to innovation and careful nurturing of a system of values. These traits have created the company that Hydro is today.

Beginnings

The journey began in 1903 when two Norwegians, entrepreneur Sam Eyde and professor and inventor Kristian Birkelund, created a method for using electricity to capture nitrogen from the atmosphere. This was the tail end of the industrial revolution, which ironically had stimulated global population growth, but had yet to create an adequate industrial farming system. Using Norway’s vast potential for hydroelectric power, nitrogen-based industrial fertilizers could be created relatively easily and at a reasonable cost.

Industrial giant

With the backing of the Norwegian government and a Swedish industrial financier, Hydro was created in 1905 and quickly became one of Norway’s first industrial giants. The years that followed brought great amounts of development to various parts of Norway. But new challenges came in the form of trade wars and depressed markets. Hydro had to adapt quickly: by the First World War, Hydro had begun to diversify. It also acquired external technology to replace its original proprietary – but no longer competitive – nitrogen generation process. The Depression of the 1930s was equally turbulent for Hydro.

Wartime challenges

The Second World War brought new challenges to Hydro, as Norway was occupied by Germany and many Hydro were facilities damaged by Allied attacks. The most famous of these was the sabotage mission of 1943, which closed a German-operated “heavy water” facility in Hydro’s plant in Rjukan.

Post-war growth

Following the war, Hydro was free again and set off on an aggressive rebuilding program. The company evolved into a modern post-war industrial conglomerate, with new businesses in plastics, petroleum and metals, including aluminium production. These developments continued into the 1970s. By the end of that decade, Hydro began to expand internationally in all its business segments.

Good times

In the 1990s, Hydro showed astute timing as a long economic boom began, successfully expanding further in petroleum production and aluminium. The company continued to evolve and over a decade later, in 2005, it transformed its historic fertilizer and industrial gas businesses into an independent company, Yara International.

Bold steps

More change was yet to come. The circle closed in 2007, when Norsk Hydro took one of the boldest steps in its restructuring process, merging its oil and gas operations with Statoil, creating StatoilHydro. What remained was the new Hydro: a global, integrated aluminium company.