Century Aluminum Company has entered into a development agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) to construct the first new primary aluminum production plant in the United States since 1980. The EGA will own 60% and Century will own 40%.
The new plant, to be located in Inola, Oklahoma, is expected to produce “750,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, larger than previously envisioned and more than doubling current U.S. production,” Century explained in a press release. The plant will further create 1,000 permanent jobs and 4,000 jobs during construction. According to the company, about 85% of the nation’s aluminum is currently imported.
Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of the year, with production beginning by the end of the decade, Century said.
“Our partner EGA brings world-class smelting technology and construction expertise that are fast-tracking our collective efforts to realize President Trump’s vision of rapidly increasing domestic primary aluminum production,” Century Aluminum CEO Jesse Gary said in a statement. “Key industries, such as automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and importantly, national defense, stand to benefit greatly from this expanded production of this critical metal, which will create thousands of new American manufacturing jobs.”
“We are once again proving that President Trump’s leadership is working to spur investment and innovation to revitalize the U.S. aluminum industry, which is essential to our nation’s defense and the economic vitality of working-class communities across the country,” Gary continued.
In June, President Trump issued a proclamation to “increase the previously described steel and aluminum tariffs to adjust the imports of steel and aluminum articles and their derivative articles so that such imports will not threaten to impair the national security.”
“In my judgment, the increased tariffs will more effectively counter foreign countries that continue to offload low-priced, excess steel and aluminum in the United States market and thereby undercut the competitiveness of the United States steel and aluminum industries,” the proclamation read.
