Alumatiq
Anode Changing Robot for the Aluminum Industry
Industry
Industrial automation
Founded
2020
Location
Mosjøen, Norway
CoFounders role
CEO & CoFounder
Revolutionizing Aluminum Production
AlumatIQ is an industrial spin-off from the metal industry cluster in Helgeland, Norway. The company is developing the world’s first anode changing robot, aimed at ensuring safer working conditions, reducing emissions, and enhancing profitability and efficiency for aluminum plants and cornerstone companies along the Norwegian coast.
A Collaboration with Alcoa and Hydro
The idea for the anode changing robot originated from Alcoa in Mosjøen, which envisioned automating the anode changing process. In 2017, Alcoa invited suppliers to present different solutions to this challenge, and the competition was won by Momek and Avanti Engineering, now part of Goodtech ASA, based in Mo i Rana.
In 2019, CoFounder was brought on board as the commercial and financial partner for the project. As a result, AlumatIQ AS was established in 2020 by Momek, Avanti, and CoFounder. Jan Biti from CoFounder was hired as the CEO, and a project team consisting of key personnel from Momek and Avanti was formed to further develop the solution. Frode Breimo was appointed as CTO in the fall of 2020.
The company has secured more than 60 MNOK in capital and is currently in the process of piloting the world’s first anode changing robot. There is a great interest from other aluminum smelters and partners globally. The solution can also be applied in other industries for automation of crane based operations.
The project also has significant ripple effects on the supplier industry in Helgeland, contributing to substantial knowledge building.