Norsk Hydro, a Norway-based aluminium and renewable energy developer, has agreed to form a joint venture (JV) with Macquarie Asset Management to develop renewable energy projects.

Macquarie will form the JV with Hydro’s renewable energy company, Hydro Rein.

Hydro will own 50.1% of the JV and Macquarie will own the remaining 49.9% by investing $332m (Nkr3.7bn).

The investment from Macquarie will be used by Hydro Rein to fund current projects under construction and develop its pipeline in the coming years.

The transaction will be closed in the second quarter of 2024.

The transaction demonstrates a partnership between Hydro Rein and Macquarie that has been built over many years.

The two are currently developing the 586MW Feijão combined wind and solar project in Brazil. This project will support Hydro’s bauxite mine, Paragominas, and its alumina refinery, Alunorte, with a clean electricity supply.

The two companies also worked on wind projects in Sweden in 2017 and 2018.

The new joint venture will include all of Hydro Rein’s assets in Brazil, Denmark and Sweden, and all energy solutions projects.

Norsk Hydro president and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim stated: “This transaction marks an important milestone for the execution of Hydro’s strategy to grow in renewable energy. We launched Hydro’s renewables ambitions through Hydro Rein less than three years ago. In a short time, the company has built a solid and impressive portfolio of renewable energy projects. All of these will be key contributors to reducing CO₂ emissions for Hydro and other industries.

“We are excited to enter the next chapter of Hydro’s transition to net zero together with a solid partner in Macquarie Asset Management. We believe their commercial strength and leading expertise in global renewable project development will complement Hydro Rein and accelerate the company’s ambitions to decarbonise industries.”

Established in 2021, Hydro Rein is currently developing a 6.9GW portfolio pipeline of renewable energy projects.

These projects, located in the Nordics and Brazil, are either under construction or in the early stages of development.