Elkem ASA

Yesterday, Elkem ASA was awarded Norway’s Smartest Industrial Company 2026 by Norsk Industri and Siemens 🏅 The award recognises companies that use technology to strengthen competitiveness, profitability and drive the green transition. Technology-driven innovation runs through Elkem’s more than 120‑year history — from the invention of the Søderberg electrode, to Elkem Microsilica®, and now to the AI journey we’re being recognised for. Our AI platform is widely used across the organisation and value chain, from production optimisation to logistics, energy use and decision‑making. More than 50 AI use cases are already in operation, delivering meaningful productivity gains in an energy‑intensive industry where small improvements matter. There was clearly an extra spring in the step of many Elkem colleagues today. 🤩 Our digitalisation journey is very much a team effort, one which people feel ownership of. As Tor Aanonsen and Geir Ausland highlighted in their acceptance speeches: we develop solutions with users, not for them. Involvement is essential if solutions are to be adopted and scaled. This culture of sharing extends beyond Elkem. Our AI platform, developed together with Egde, is now attracting other industrial companies. This is helping build an ecosystem for learning and faster scaling — where experience and ways of working can be shared without sharing proprietary data. Many industrial challenges are similar — and platforms like this allow us to move faster, together. Lastly, an invitation: if there are industrial companies out there that haven’t yet joined this journey — don’t hesitate to reach out!