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For nearly two years, Century Aluminum has been searching for a site to put a giant new U.S. smelter — a decision that largely hinged on where it could strike a deal with utilities to access cheap, reliable electricity.
On Monday, the Chicago-based manufacturer finally unveiled its plans. Rather than build its own power-hungry facility, Century is partnering with Emirates Global Aluminium to jointly develop a smelter near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the companies announced. The facility will be America’s first new aluminum smelter in nearly half a century if completed as planned by the end of the decade.
“Together we will make a huge contribution to rebuilding American aluminum production for the 21st century,” Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of the Dubai–based EGA, said in a statement.
Century had previously identified northeastern Kentucky as its preferred location for a $5 billion smelter, though the company was also evaluating sites in the Ohio and Mississippi river basins. In 2024, the Biden-era Department of Energy selected Century to receive up to $500 million to build a “green” smelter powered by 100% renewable or nuclear energy.
Century didn’t immediately return Canary Media’s questions about the status of the federal award or how energy issues factored into its decision to join forces with EGA.
But on Tuesday, Century CEO Jesse Gary told Fox Business, “That grant is going to underlie the total investment … to help build this new smelter.”
Aluminum production contributes about 2% of greenhouse gas emissions globally every year, and the majority of those emissions come from generating high volumes of electricity — often derived from fossil fuels — to power smelters.
Emirates Global Aluminium first proposed building its own Oklahoma smelter last May. Up until this week, EGA and Century seemed to be racing each other to fire up their new facilities. The fact that the companies teamed up reflects how difficult it is for manufacturers to secure power at the volumes and prices they need, not only in the United States but globally — a challenge that’s getting even harder with the competition from AI data centers.
Building a smelter “is very expensive and very complicated, so I take it as good news,” said Joe Quinn, who leads the Center for Strategic Industrial Materials for SAFE, which advocates for policies to enhance U.S. energy security.
“There was a scenario where both could have failed,” he added. “But now they’re getting together, and I think that strengthens the likelihood of a new smelter being built in the United States.” He said the news was “a little surprising, but then again not that surprising” given the challenges of opening a multibillion-dollar greenfield smelter.
Under this new agreement, EGA will own 60% of the joint venture and Century will own the remaining 40%. The Tulsa-area facility is expected to produce 750,000 metric tons of aluminum per year, an amount that is 25% larger than previously envisioned — and more than double the current U.S. production of primary aluminum.
A facility that massive will require over 11 terawatt-hours of power, or enough electricity annually to power the city of Boston or Nashville, according to an Aluminum Association report.
America’s output of the versatile metal has sharply declined in recent decades, in large part owing to rising industrial electricity rates. Today, the country operates just four smelters — down from 33 in 1980 — and it imports about 85% of all the aluminum it needs each year. At the same time, the U.S. is using more aluminum in solar panels, power cables, infrastructure, and electronics. By 2035, U.S. demand for primary aluminum is expected to rise by as much as 40%, the advocacy group Industrious Labs said in a report last year.
Annie Sartor, Industrious Labs’ senior campaigns director, said that “two smelters would have been ideal” for boosting U.S. aluminum production. “One is better than none, but neither can succeed without affordable, clean power,” she said in a statement.
Construction on the Oklahoma smelter is set to start by the end of this year, the companies said. Negotiations are still underway with the Public Service Company of Oklahoma, which is a subsidiary of utility giant AEP, and the state of Oklahoma to secure a competitive, long-term power contract.
Last year, EGA signed a nonbinding agreement to build its proposed smelter with the office of Republican Gov. J. Kevin Stitt, a deal that includes over $275 million in incentives, including discounts for power. Oklahoma’s “energy abundance” was a key factor in selecting the state for the new aluminum smelter, Simon Buerk, EGA’s senior vice president for corporate affairs, previously told Canary Media.
More than 40% of Oklahoma’s annual electricity generation comes from wind turbines spinning on open prairies, while about half the state’s generation comes from fossil-gas power plants. Last summer, the Public Service Company acquired an existing 795-megawatt gas plant south of Tulsa to meet the rising energy needs of its customers, potentially including EGA.
Buerk said last year that the Oklahoma smelter’s annual power mix “will be based on EGA’s decarbonisation objectives, market dynamics, and market demand for low-carbon aluminum.” He confirmed that Monday’s announcement doesn’t change any of the options being discussed in ongoing negotiations with the utility. That includes a potential tariff structure that gives the smelter dedicated long-term access to a proportion of renewable energy.
The news that Century Aluminum is investing in Oklahoma comes as a major letdown for some environmental and labor groups in Kentucky, who had advocated for bringing the project to their state. Century already owns two aging smelters in western Kentucky, and the new facility was supposed to create thousands of construction jobs and more than 1,000 permanent positions — jobs that will now go to Oklahoma.
“This is a disappointing loss for Kentucky, but it should serve as a wake-up call,” Lane Boldman, executive director at Kentucky Conservation Committee, said in a statement. “For Kentucky to remain an energy leader and meet the needs of industries looking for reliable and affordable power, it must modernize its energy infrastructure more quickly, such as grid modernization, energy storage, and diversifying with renewables.”
An update was made on Jan. 27, 2026 to include a response from EGA and comments from Century CEO Jesse Gary.
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