Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest industrial company outside the oil and gas sector, has signed a joint development agreement with Century Aluminium to build the first new primary production plant for the metal in the US in four and half decades.
Under the agreement, EGA will own 60 per cent of the joint venture, with Century controlling the remainder, EGA said on Monday.
The plan to build the plant in Inola, Oklahoma was announced last May, with EGA saying at the time it will invest $4 billion in the venture.
“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,” said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of EGA. “Together we will make a huge contribution to rebuilding American aluminium production for the 21st century.”
The new complex is expected to produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminium a year, swamping the previously estimated 600,000 annual capacity, which will more than double current US production.
The plant will create 1,000 permanent jobs and create 4,000 work opportunities during construction.
Building is expected to start by the end of this year, with production to start before the end of the decade.
EGA said detailed engineering work is already under way and negotiations for a competitive long-term power supply agreement are progressing.
The plant will be built at the industrial park at Tulsa Port in Inola, which through the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System will allow access to the Mississippi, providing for efficient bulk freight movement, the company said.
EGA said the new plant will be the US's largest primary aluminium production facility that will help the world’s largest economy cut its reliance on importing the metal. About 85 per cent of aluminium needs of US industries are currently met by imports.
“Key industries, such as automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and importantly, national defence, stand to benefit greatly from expanded production of this critical metal, which will create thousands of new American manufacturing jobs,” said Jesse Gary, chief executive of Century Aluminium.
EGA has expanded its international footprint in recent years including the 2024 deal it struck to acquire an 80 per cent stake in US firm Spectro Alloys, allowing it expand its presence in the American aluminium recycling market.
Spectro Alloys, a family-owned business, retained its 20 per cent share of the metal recycling company.
In 2024, EGA acquired Germany's speciality foundry Leichtmetall Aluminium from Leichtmetall Holding, a subsidiary of an investment fund managed by Quantum Capital Partners, to expand in Europe's aluminium recycling market.
