Norsk Hydro Rjukan
Encyclopedia
Norsk Hydro Rjukan is an industrial facility operated by Norsk Hydro
at Rjukan
in Tinn
, Norway
, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer
, including ammonia
, potassium nitrate
, heavy water
and hydrogen
. The location was chosen for its vicinity to hydroelectric
power plants built in the Måna
river.
30 million tonnes of products, equivalent of 1.5 million wagon loads, were produced in Rjukan. After the closing parts of the plants and the railway have been preserved.
, along with Norwegian and Swedish investors, bought the waterfall Rjukanfossen
—establishing A/S Rjukanfos on 30 April 1903. The same year, on 13 February, Eyde and Kristian Birkeland
had met and started working on refining the electric arc
to produce an electric flame; allowing Eyde to complete his process of converting air and electricity into fertilizer. On 19 December 1903 Det Norske Kvælstofkompagni
was founded, followed by Det Norske Aktieselskap for Eletrokemisk Industri
(today Elkem) in 1904; both were in part owned by the Wallenberg family
, Stockholms Enskilda Bank
and Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas
.
The test plant in Notodden started operation on 2 May 1905 as the first in the world to produce synthetic potassium nitrate
. On 2 December 1905 Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab
(now Norsk Hydro) was founded, and plans to start a new plant in Rjukan were initialized; moving closer to the source of power would improve efficiency and not make it possible for the newly independent Government of Norway to hinder construction of hydroelectric
power by foreign investors—a major political issue at the time. Rjukanfos applied for permission to build a power line
from Rjukan to Notodden, but on 18 June 1907 the Norwegian Parliament did not accept the application—despite an offer from Eyde that the state would receive escheat
after eighty years—in part because the state would have to guarantee NOK
18 million for the project.
(today BASF) made an agreement for the creation of the factory at Rjukan, Rjukan Salpeterfabrik, and at the same time created Norsk Transport
aktieselskap—both companies were owned as 50/50 joint venture
s. Norsk Transport received concession
on 17 July 1907 to build and operate a railway for thirty years. The companies had a stock equity of NOK 34 million.
Construction of the plants at Rjukan would commence through two states; first at Vemork and second at Såheim, while the town of Rjukan would be built in the middle. The initial plant would use both the Birkeland-Eyde furnace, and the Schönherr furnace; 120 were built on 6,000 square meters floorspace. On 28 September 1911 BASF sold their ownership in the Rjukan plants to Norsk Hydro, the same year the first plant opened.
Accompanying the plants was housing and public facilities for the workers. Norsk Hydro employed at the most 2,500 people during construction, and many settled and took industrial jobs after the plants were finished. The main engineer for the constructions at Rjukan was Sigurd Kloumann, while the main architect was Thorvald Astrup
.
The first potassium nitrate was shipped out on 8 December 1911, and two years later the plants were making a profit. Production increased from 110,000 tonnes per year to 250,000 tonnes in 1915, after the plant had been expanded, and up to 345,000 tonnes in 1917. The small hamlet of Rjukan had turned into a town, and in 1920 there were 11,651 people in Tinn.
The 1920s were a tough time, and production decreased, but in 1929 the electric arc technology was replaced by the Haber process
, with the intermediate ammonia being synthesized at Vemork and transported by rail and ferry to Herøya
outside Porsgrunn
on the coast, where limestone
easily could be shipped in, and finished fertilizer shipped out, reducing the tonnage from Tinn. The ammonia plant was established at Rjukan in 1927, following a 1925 agreement between IG Farben
of Germany, who transferred the Harber patents to Norsk Hydro in exchange for a quarter ownership, and the distribution of the products through them.
During the 1930s there was a global depression, and Norsk Hydro make an alliance with IG Farben and Imperial Chemical Industries
; the rise of protectionism
was causing problems due to Norsk Hydro only selling 5% of the produce domestically. The was followed by many lay-offs, and not until 1938 was Norsk Hydro able to make a profit again. During the 1930s other products came into production, including hydrogen and other gases, and from 1934 as the first plant in the world mass produced heavy water
, following a production plan by Leif Tronstad
and Jomar Brun.
, while the Green Revolution
and increased industrialization of agriculture in Europe boomed the demand for the products; from 1945 to 1955 production increased eightfold.
In 1957 five round trips had to be made by the new ferry MF Storegut
each day, while the trains made nine round trips from Rjukan to Mæl; each day transporting 100 wagon with 800 tonnes potassium nitrate and 400 tonnes ammonia; by 1962 723,482 tonnes produced a year.
Rolf Østbye
made it clear that new technology in the production of ammonia would force the closure of the plant at Rjukan, and replace it with a petroleum-based process at Herøya
. The "Rjukan situation", as it was named in the press, became a source of conflict between the local community and Norsk Hydro; initially 250 jobs were to be moved to Herøya, but in 1964 Norsk Hydro applied for permission to build a power line from Rjukan to Herøya—what would become the death sentence for the large industry at Rjukan. Permission for the construction of the power line was granted in 1968. Production of fertilizer was moved to Herøya
and Glomfjord
, and Rjukan transferred to production of calcium ammonium nitrate in 1963 and ammonium nitrate in
1964.
During the 1960s a series of cost reductions were introduced, after major reorganizations between 1965 and 1970; the last commuter train for the workers to the plants went on 25 May 1968, while on 31 May 1970 the last passenger train in connection with the ferries went on Rjukanbanen, being replaced with bus. In 1985 the department gave in and permitted the termination of passenger services with Storegut and Ammonia.
The plan had been producing a deficit since 1982. Norsk Hydro made an agreement with the authorities where they would create 350 new permanent jobs, create a business fund and donate NOK 60 million for the construction of a new road, Route 37, along Tinnsjø. In 1988 Norsk Hydro terminated the ammonia production, and in 1991 they also closed down the production ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, along with Rjukanbanen. Within a few years the number of Norsk Hydro employees in Rjukan had been reduced from 1,760 to 530 people. All the employees were either retired or moved to other areas of Norsk Hydro's enterprise.
was established at Vemork; by 1995 it had become a national museum. After the closing in 1991 the railway and railway ferries were preserved. In 2004 the foundation running the heritage railway was discontinued, and in 2007 the Norwegian Industry Workers Museum was launched as the new operator by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
. This would allow the plants and Rjukan along with the railway, and equivalent closed plants at Odda
to be nominated as a World Heritage Site
by the directorate.
and oxygen
, a plant was built next to Vemork. Established in 1929, it sent the products down to Rjukan via pipeline
. By 1934 it was discovered that the plan was making heavy water
as a byproduct; since there was a market for this amongst scientists at the time, up to five litres (one gallon) were produced a year. The plant was torn down after it was disused in 1971. The hydrogen plant required direct current
, that could not be transported longer distances without large energy loss; therefore it had to be located right beside the power station.
from the lake Møsvatn
through five power stations along the river Måna
, Svelgfoss I (1907), Lienfoss (1909), Vemork
(1916), Såheim (1916) and Frøistul (1926). Vemork was at the time of its opening the largest in the world, and four times larger than the runner up in Norway. To allow such high falls as 200 metres (656.2 ft) the newly developed pelton turbine
had to be taken into use.
, Norsk Hydro needed to build an extensive railway network. Cargo was stored in tank car
s and transported down the 16 kilometres (10 mi) Rjukanbanen to Mæl
, where it was transferred to the Tinnsjø railway ferry
. After a 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) ride across the lake, it was again transferred to Tinnosbanen and transported 34 kilometres (21.1 mi) to Notodden
where it was transshipped to barge
s and transported down the Telemark Canal
. After 1919 the final stage was replaced with the 74 kilometres (46 mi) railway Bratsbergbanen; simultaneously Tinnosbanen was nationalized and taken over by Norges Statsbaner.
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
at Rjukan
Rjukan
Rjukan is a town and the administrative center of Tinn municipality in Telemark . It is situated in Vestfjorddalen, between Møsvatn and Tinnsjå, and got its name after Rjukanfossen west of the town. The Tinn municipality council granted township status for Rjukan in 1996. The town has 3 386...
in Tinn
Tinn
Tinn is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Rjukan....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, from 1911 to 1991. The plant manufactured chemicals related to the production of fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
, including ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
, potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
, heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
and hydrogen
Hydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
. The location was chosen for its vicinity to hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
power plants built in the Måna
Måna
Måna or Måne is a river in Tinn, Norway; it flows from Møsvatn through Vestfjorddalen and Rjukan to Vestfjorden in Tinnsjå. It is part of the Skiensvassdraget drainage basin....
river.
30 million tonnes of products, equivalent of 1.5 million wagon loads, were produced in Rjukan. After the closing parts of the plants and the railway have been preserved.
Background
The Telemark power-based industry adventure started in 1902 when Sam EydeSam Eyde
Samuel Eyde was a Norwegian engineer and industrialist, the founder of Norsk Hydro and Elkem.-Biography:Sam Eyde was the son of a shipowner, and studied engineering in Berlin where he graduated in 1891. He started his career in Hamburg, working with the railways where he planned new lines, bridges...
, along with Norwegian and Swedish investors, bought the waterfall Rjukanfossen
Rjukanfossen
Rjukanfossen is a waterfall of 104 meter in the western part of the Westfjord valley in Tinn, a municipality in the county of Telemark, Norway, west of the industrial town Rjukan. The waterfall is a part of the Måne river, earlier a major tourist attraction, being one of the first floodlighted...
—establishing A/S Rjukanfos on 30 April 1903. The same year, on 13 February, Eyde and Kristian Birkeland
Kristian Birkeland
Kristian Olaf Birkeland was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered as the person who first elucidated the nature of the Aurora borealis. In order to fund his research on the aurorae, he invented the electromagnetic cannon and the Birkeland-Eyde process of fixing nitrogen from the air...
had met and started working on refining the electric arc
Electric arc
An electric arc is an electrical breakdown of a gas which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from a current flowing through normally nonconductive media such as air. A synonym is arc discharge. An arc discharge is characterized by a lower voltage than a glow discharge, and relies on...
to produce an electric flame; allowing Eyde to complete his process of converting air and electricity into fertilizer. On 19 December 1903 Det Norske Kvælstofkompagni
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
was founded, followed by Det Norske Aktieselskap for Eletrokemisk Industri
Elkem
Elkem is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. The company's main products are aluminium, energy and silicon as well as specialised products such as ferrosilicon to foundries, microsilica and carbon...
(today Elkem) in 1904; both were in part owned by the Wallenberg family
Wallenberg family
The Wallenberg family is a prominent Swedish banking family, renowned as bankers, industrialists, politicians, diplomats and philanthropists. The most famous of the Wallenbergs, Raoul Wallenberg, a diplomat, worked in Budapest, Hungary, during World War II to rescue Jews from the Holocaust...
, Stockholms Enskilda Bank
Stockholms Enskilda Bank
Stockholms Enskilda Bank, sometimes called Enskilda banken or SEB, was a Swedish bank, founded in 1856 by André Oscar Wallenberg as Stockholm's first private bank...
and Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
.
The test plant in Notodden started operation on 2 May 1905 as the first in the world to produce synthetic potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula KNO3. It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrate ions NO3−.It occurs as a mineral niter and is a natural solid source of nitrogen. Its common names include saltpetre , from medieval Latin sal petræ: "stone salt" or possibly "Salt...
. On 2 December 1905 Norsk Hydro-Elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
(now Norsk Hydro) was founded, and plans to start a new plant in Rjukan were initialized; moving closer to the source of power would improve efficiency and not make it possible for the newly independent Government of Norway to hinder construction of hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
power by foreign investors—a major political issue at the time. Rjukanfos applied for permission to build a power line
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
from Rjukan to Notodden, but on 18 June 1907 the Norwegian Parliament did not accept the application—despite an offer from Eyde that the state would receive escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
after eighty years—in part because the state would have to guarantee NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
18 million for the project.
Construction
On 13 April 1907 Norsk Hydro and the German group Badische Anilin- und Soda-FabrikBASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
(today BASF) made an agreement for the creation of the factory at Rjukan, Rjukan Salpeterfabrik, and at the same time created Norsk Transport
Norsk Transport
Norsk Transport AS was a railway- and shipping company responsible for the transport of chemicals from Norsk Hydro Rjukan. A subsidiary of Norsk Hydro, the company was founded in 1907 and operated until 1991....
aktieselskap—both companies were owned as 50/50 joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
s. Norsk Transport received concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
on 17 July 1907 to build and operate a railway for thirty years. The companies had a stock equity of NOK 34 million.
Construction of the plants at Rjukan would commence through two states; first at Vemork and second at Såheim, while the town of Rjukan would be built in the middle. The initial plant would use both the Birkeland-Eyde furnace, and the Schönherr furnace; 120 were built on 6,000 square meters floorspace. On 28 September 1911 BASF sold their ownership in the Rjukan plants to Norsk Hydro, the same year the first plant opened.
Accompanying the plants was housing and public facilities for the workers. Norsk Hydro employed at the most 2,500 people during construction, and many settled and took industrial jobs after the plants were finished. The main engineer for the constructions at Rjukan was Sigurd Kloumann, while the main architect was Thorvald Astrup
Thorvald Astrup
Thorvald Astrup was a Norwegian architect, particularly known for industrial architecture.Born in Oslo , he was educated at Christiania Technical School in 1891-92, and Christiania Fine Art School the following year; he also attended Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg from 1896-97...
.
The first years
The 1920s were a tough time, and production decreased, but in 1929 the electric arc technology was replaced by the Haber process
Haber process
The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is the nitrogen fixation reaction of nitrogen gas and hydrogen gas, over an enriched iron or ruthenium catalyst, which is used to industrially produce ammonia....
, with the intermediate ammonia being synthesized at Vemork and transported by rail and ferry to Herøya
Herøya
Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget...
outside Porsgrunn
Porsgrunn
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Porsgrunn....
on the coast, where limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
easily could be shipped in, and finished fertilizer shipped out, reducing the tonnage from Tinn. The ammonia plant was established at Rjukan in 1927, following a 1925 agreement between IG Farben
IG Farben
I.G. Farbenindustrie AG was a German chemical industry conglomerate. Its name is taken from Interessen-Gemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG . The company was formed in 1925 from a number of major companies that had been working together closely since World War I...
of Germany, who transferred the Harber patents to Norsk Hydro in exchange for a quarter ownership, and the distribution of the products through them.
During the 1930s there was a global depression, and Norsk Hydro make an alliance with IG Farben and Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
; the rise of protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
was causing problems due to Norsk Hydro only selling 5% of the produce domestically. The was followed by many lay-offs, and not until 1938 was Norsk Hydro able to make a profit again. During the 1930s other products came into production, including hydrogen and other gases, and from 1934 as the first plant in the world mass produced heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
, following a production plan by Leif Tronstad
Leif Tronstad
Leif Hans Larsen Tronstad DSO, OBE was a Norwegian scientist, intelligence officer and military organizer. He graduated from the Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1927 and was a prolific researcher and writer of academic publications...
and Jomar Brun.
Climax
After the end of the war Norsk Hydro had a strong liquidityMarket liquidity
In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is an asset's ability to be sold without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value...
, while the Green Revolution
Green Revolution
Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s, that increased agriculture production around the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s....
and increased industrialization of agriculture in Europe boomed the demand for the products; from 1945 to 1955 production increased eightfold.
In 1957 five round trips had to be made by the new ferry MF Storegut
MF Storegut
MF Storegut is a railway ferry that operated between Tinnoset and Mæl on the lake Tinnsjø, Norway. She was launched on 25 May 1956 and taken out of service after 4 July 1991 when the Tinnsjø railway ferry ceased operations. As of 2008 Storegut is docked at Tinnoset and is used for chartered...
each day, while the trains made nine round trips from Rjukan to Mæl; each day transporting 100 wagon with 800 tonnes potassium nitrate and 400 tonnes ammonia; by 1962 723,482 tonnes produced a year.
Decline
Norsk Hydro announced in 1963 a savings plan for its four plants in Norway; Chief Executive OfficerChief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
Rolf Østbye
Rolf Østbye
Rolf Østbye was a Norwegian businessperson.He was born in Kristiania as a son of rector Niels Johan Hagerup Østbye and Johanne Elisabeth Mellbye...
made it clear that new technology in the production of ammonia would force the closure of the plant at Rjukan, and replace it with a petroleum-based process at Herøya
Herøya
Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget...
. The "Rjukan situation", as it was named in the press, became a source of conflict between the local community and Norsk Hydro; initially 250 jobs were to be moved to Herøya, but in 1964 Norsk Hydro applied for permission to build a power line from Rjukan to Herøya—what would become the death sentence for the large industry at Rjukan. Permission for the construction of the power line was granted in 1968. Production of fertilizer was moved to Herøya
Herøya
Herøya is a peninsula in the municipality of Porsgrunn, Norway. It is located between the fjords of Frierfjord to the west and Gunneklevfjord to the east, at the mouth of Telemarksvassdraget...
and Glomfjord
Glomfjord
Glomfjord is an industrial community at the head of a small fjord of the same name in Meløy municipality, northern Norway, above the Arctic Circle. The population is 1,204.-Heavy industry:...
, and Rjukan transferred to production of calcium ammonium nitrate in 1963 and ammonium nitrate in
1964.
During the 1960s a series of cost reductions were introduced, after major reorganizations between 1965 and 1970; the last commuter train for the workers to the plants went on 25 May 1968, while on 31 May 1970 the last passenger train in connection with the ferries went on Rjukanbanen, being replaced with bus. In 1985 the department gave in and permitted the termination of passenger services with Storegut and Ammonia.
The plan had been producing a deficit since 1982. Norsk Hydro made an agreement with the authorities where they would create 350 new permanent jobs, create a business fund and donate NOK 60 million for the construction of a new road, Route 37, along Tinnsjø. In 1988 Norsk Hydro terminated the ammonia production, and in 1991 they also closed down the production ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate, along with Rjukanbanen. Within a few years the number of Norsk Hydro employees in Rjukan had been reduced from 1,760 to 530 people. All the employees were either retired or moved to other areas of Norsk Hydro's enterprise.
Heritage
In 1988 the Norwegian Industrial Workers MuseumNorwegian Industrial Workers Museum
Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum is an industrial museum located at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway. Located in the Vemork power station, it was established in 1988 to allow the preservation of industrial society created by Norsk Hydro when they established themselves in Rjukan in 1907.-Premise:The...
was established at Vemork; by 1995 it had become a national museum. After the closing in 1991 the railway and railway ferries were preserved. In 2004 the foundation running the heritage railway was discontinued, and in 2007 the Norwegian Industry Workers Museum was launched as the new operator by the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage
The Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage is a government agency responsible for the management of cultural heritage in Norway. Subordinate the Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, it manages the Cultural Heritage Act of June 9, 1978....
. This would allow the plants and Rjukan along with the railway, and equivalent closed plants at Odda
Odda
is a municipality and town in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Odda was separated from Ullensvang on 1 July 1913 and on 1 January 1964 Røldal was merged with Odda. The town of Odda is the centre of the landscape of Hardanger, located at the end of the Hardangerfjord.In 1927, Erling Johnson,...
to be nominated as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
by the directorate.
Facilities
Hydrogen plant
For the creation of hydrogenHydrogen
Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...
and oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, a plant was built next to Vemork. Established in 1929, it sent the products down to Rjukan via pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
. By 1934 it was discovered that the plan was making heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
as a byproduct; since there was a market for this amongst scientists at the time, up to five litres (one gallon) were produced a year. The plant was torn down after it was disused in 1971. The hydrogen plant required direct current
Direct current
Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
, that could not be transported longer distances without large energy loss; therefore it had to be located right beside the power station.
Power plants
The establishment at Rjukan allowed for the exploitation of hydroelectricityHydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
from the lake Møsvatn
Møsvatn
Møsvatn is twelfth largest lake in Norway with a surface area of 78.31 km². It lies primarily in Vinje municipality in Telemark county. The lake lies in the watershed of the Skien river and discharges into the Måna river. Along the shores of the lake, many traces of stone age settlers can be...
through five power stations along the river Måna
Måna
Måna or Måne is a river in Tinn, Norway; it flows from Møsvatn through Vestfjorddalen and Rjukan to Vestfjorden in Tinnsjå. It is part of the Skiensvassdraget drainage basin....
, Svelgfoss I (1907), Lienfoss (1909), Vemork
Vemork
Vemork is the name of a hydroelectric power plant outside Rjukan in Tinn, Norway. The plant was built by Norsk Hydro and opened in 1911, its main purpose being to fix nitrogen for the production of fertilizer. Vemork was later the site of the first plant in the world to mass-produce heavy water...
(1916), Såheim (1916) and Frøistul (1926). Vemork was at the time of its opening the largest in the world, and four times larger than the runner up in Norway. To allow such high falls as 200 metres (656.2 ft) the newly developed pelton turbine
Pelton wheel
The Pelton wheel is an impulse turbine which is among the most efficient types of water turbines. It was invented by Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to its weight like traditional overshot water wheel...
had to be taken into use.
Transport
To transport the products to the coastal port at SkienSkien
' is a city and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien. Skien is also the administrative centre of Telemark county....
, Norsk Hydro needed to build an extensive railway network. Cargo was stored in tank car
Tank car
A tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...
s and transported down the 16 kilometres (10 mi) Rjukanbanen to Mæl
Mæl Station
Mæl Station is a railway station on Rjukanbanen and where the railway cars on the line were transferred to the railway ferry to Tinnoset. The station is located 16 km from Rjukan and on the mouth of the river Måna in Vestfjorddalen where the river runs into Tinnsjå.The station was built in...
, where it was transferred to the Tinnsjø railway ferry
Tinnsjø railway ferry
Tinnsjø railway ferry was a Norwegian railway ferry service on the lake Tinnsjå that connected the railways of Rjukanbanen and Tinnosbanen. The long ferry trip made it possible for Norsk Hydro to transport its fertilizer from the plant at Rjukan to the port in Skien...
. After a 30 kilometres (18.6 mi) ride across the lake, it was again transferred to Tinnosbanen and transported 34 kilometres (21.1 mi) to Notodden
Notodden
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden....
where it was transshipped to barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s and transported down the Telemark Canal
Telemark canal
The Telemark Canal connects Skien to Dalen in southern Norway by linking up several long lakes using a series of 18 locks. It originally consisted of two canals: The Norsjø-Skien Canal, with locks in Skien and Løveid was built in the period 1854–1861, and is the oldest of the two canals.The...
. After 1919 the final stage was replaced with the 74 kilometres (46 mi) railway Bratsbergbanen; simultaneously Tinnosbanen was nationalized and taken over by Norges Statsbaner.