EGA and Century Aluminum set to build first new US smelter in nearly 50 years

On January 26, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a global leader in aluminium production and Century Aluminum Company, a producer of standard-grade, high-purity and value-added primary aluminium products, announced a joint development. This agreement focuses on building the first new primary aluminium production plant in the US since 1980. As per the agreement drafted, EGA will hold 60 per cent share of the joint venture and the remaining 40 per cent will be owned by Century Aluminum.

Adhering to the agreement announced by EGA, the new plant will be built in Inola, Oklahoma. This plant shall hold the capacity of producing 750 thousand tonnes of aluminium per year, which is much larger than what has been previously envisioned and doubles the current US production rate. Besides production, the plant will help generate more than 1 thousand permanent jobs at the facility and another 4 thousand jobs at the construction site.

The joint development will get an advantage in the aluminium smelting design and technology, construction and operations by making use of EGA’s top-notch expertise, blending with Century Aluminum's operating smelters in the US by effective use of domestic supply chains.

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In addition to this, the plant development project shall make use of EGA's current state-of-the-art EX technology, which is deemed to be the first ever advanced technology installed in the US. Post this, both partners will be focusing on their greenfield development efforts in the US on the Inola, Oklahoma site.

This plant, in the US, will stand as the largest ever primary aluminium production plant, which has been built after almost 50 years. Currently, nearly 85 per cent of the US demand for primary aluminium is satisfied by imports. However, with this smelter in place, the hope of an expanded domestic supply of critical minerals and a growing American aluminium workforce, the dependency on imports can be reduced.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA, said, “We have made great progress preparing for the start of construction in Inola and welcome Century as a partner in this important project for the future of American industry and now both our companies. EGA’s global skills, technology and capital are being joined by Century’s deep expertise and experience in the United States. Together we will make a huge contribution to rebuilding American aluminium production for the 21st century.”

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Jesse Gary, CEO of Century Aluminum, said, “Our partner EGA brings world-class smelting technology and construction expertise that are fast-tracking our collective efforts to realise President Trump’s vision of rapidly increasing domestic primary aluminium production. Key industries, such as automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and importantly, national defence, 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 revitalise the US aluminium industry, which is essential to our nation’s defence and the economic vitality of working-class communities across the country.”

By the end of 2026, the project is expected to commence and starting with production, a fruitful outcome may take up to the end of this decade. For the project, negotiations with the Public Service Company of Oklahoma are underway for the detailed engineering and for the long-term power supply in the state of Oklahoma.

Located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (M-KARNS), the plant will be built at the industrial park at Tulsa Port of Inola. The location is connected to the Mississippi River system and shall provide for efficient bulk freight movement.

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By partnering with EGA in a joint plant development, Century's latest efforts to increase domestic primary aluminium production are boosted. In August 2025, the firm announced that it would be investing nearly USD 50 million in its Mt. Holly, South Carolina, smelter, which holds 50 thousand tonnes of idle production capacity but had been operating at 75 per cent capacity at the moment.

For this project, the firm has signed an extension of its power agreement with South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper) in early October 2025, securing the power supply needed for that smelter through 2031, marking a critical step in its plans to restart that facility’s idled capacity.

To know more about the global primary aluminium industry 2026 outlook, book the report “Global ALuminium Industry Outlook 2026".