European aluminum production has fallen to its lowest level in half a century, which is like an “existential crisis. Paul Voss, director general of the European Aluminum Association, told Bloomberg.

“This is a real existential crisis. We need to come up with something quickly, otherwise there will be nothing to rebuild,” Voss said.

According to the publication, aluminum smelters in Europe have significantly reduced production because of record electricity prices, as well as the refusal to buy aluminum in Russia.

The publication pointed out that just a ton of aluminum is produced using 15 megawatt hours of energy, which is enough to supply five households in Germany for a year. In this case, Europe has already lost at least 1 million tons of annual aluminum production capacity, where a quarter of it may never recover.

On Aug. 17, Norwegian metals and energy company Norsk Hydro said it will halt primary aluminum production at its unit in Slovakia at the end of September. This will be done due to unfavorable external conditions and high electricity prices.

Earlier we reported that Lessebo Paper is suspending paper production due to higher energy costs.