Opinion: Five Misconceptions About Restarting Production at Slovalco

An opinion piece published in Denník N by Ivan Štulajter challenges what he describes as five common misconceptions surrounding the potential restart of production at Slovalco, a major aluminum smelter in Slovakia. Štulajter argues that assumptions being treated as established facts are distorting public debate about the facility's future. Slovalco, located in Žiar nad Hronom in central Slovakia, was once one of the largest aluminum producers in Central Europe but suspended primary aluminum production in 2022 amid soaring energy costs driven by the energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The question of whether and how production could be resumed has remained a significant economic and industrial policy issue in Slovakia, given the plant's role as a major employer in the region.