Germany's Trimet Aluminium AG has signed a letter of intent to restart the mothballed 130,000-metric-ton a year Hamburger Aluminium Werke in Germany, a HAW company official said Wednesday.
"Trimet has signed a letter of intent to take over the existing plant and restart production within the next 12 months," council spokesman Karl-Heinz Dieck said.
Equal stakeholders Norsk Hydro ASA (NNY), Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Austria's Amag shut the smelter at the end of 2005 citing the lack of a competitive long-term electricity supply deal.
Other parties were also interested in taking over the idled plant plant but no details were given.
In a statement on the company's Web site, Trimet said further negotiations for a takeover of HAW were necessary but that it expected a finalization in the next few days.
The operation would employ 400 workers.
Aluminium smelting consumes vast amounts of electricity, which has resulted in a number of closures in North America and Europe over the past years.
Capacity has shifted to regions offering lower energy prices, such us Canada or the Middle East.
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