German Norsk Hydro smelter faces shutdown - paper

FRANKFURT, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Germany's biggest aluminium smelter plant, owned by Norway's Norsk Hydro (NHY.OL), is facing immediate shutdown due to high environmental costs, a German daily said on Tuesday. Bankruptcy The Rheinwerk plant in Neuss will have to close down immediately if the metal industries do not receive aid in the coming days, Die Welt newspaper cited Martin Kneer, managing director of the German Metal Federation WVM, as saying in an e-mail to the German Chancellor's Office. A spokesman for WVM told the newspaper other aluminium and zinc smelter plants are facing the same risk of being shut down. Kneer in his e-mail urged the German government to ask the European Commission in Brussels for the green light to provide compensation for CO2 costs incurred by energy-intensive companies, Die Welt said in an excerpt of its Wednesday edition. Germany's previous ruling government coalition had decided to give extra aid of 40 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2009 to help the non-ferrous metal industry overcome the impact of the economic slowdown and high German power costs. [ID:nL6311896] A spokesman for Rheinwerk declined comment to the newspaper. A spokesman for Norsk Hydro in Norway was not immediately available for comment to Reuters. ($1=.6752 Euro) (Reporting by Marilyn Gerlach and Wojciech Moskwa; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)