Expensive electricity causes the factory closures in Europe.

The increase in the price of electricity in the EU is forcing owners of the most energy-intensive industries to close their facilities. Nyrstar has announced that it will shut down its Budel zinc plant in the Netherlands early next month. In addition, the large Slovalco aluminum plant in Slovakia will cease operations. The company’s owner, Norsk Hydro, said that Slovalco would be operating at a loss at current electricity prices. Slovalco’s total capacity is 175,000 tons of aluminum annually, but in recent months the plant has been operating at only 60% of capacity. Until the end of September, the plant’s main production lines will be mothballed entirely, and it will only resume work when market conditions allow. The basic cost of electricity in Europe rose above €500 per MWh. This represents a 500% price increase over the past year, writes Bloomberg.