Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the companies behind planned primary aluminum production plant in Inola, Oklahoma, signed an agreement with U.S. Aluminum Company, a new manufacturing venture, to explore the development of an aluminum manufacturing plant near the new smelter.
“The development of America’s largest and most advanced primary aluminum production plant right here in Oklahoma is a transformative industrial opportunity for our state and country,” said Ryan Plotkin, president and CEO of U.S. Aluminum Company. “U.S. Aluminum Company intends to leverage the availability of Oklahoma-made metal to be the cornerstone aluminum processing facility in Inola, creating additional jobs and making strategic products for the many downstream industries we expect will grow around the new smelter as well as customers throughout America.”
The planned greenfield aluminum smelter project, named Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, is expected to double U.S. primary aluminum production and make Oklahoma a national center of aluminum-related manufacturing. The project is being jointly developed by EGA (60%) and Century Aluminum (40%), and plans to use EGA’s latest state-of-the-art EX technology to produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminum per year. Recently, Bechtel was appointed to lead preparatory engineering on the project.
U.S. Aluminum Company, recently founded by the Plotkin Family of Oklahoma City, owners of leading aluminum fabrication company M-D Building Products (a national leader in the hardware industry for more than a century), is the first downstream firm to sign an agreement with the project developers. The company’s goal is to build a plant near the smelter to turn liquid aluminum into products for the electrical, defense, aerospace, automotive, and machinery industries.
“This project will help make Oklahoma — especially Inola — one of the top places in America to manufacture aluminum products, while creating thousands of new jobs for Oklahomans,” said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA. “We’re proud to sign our first downstream exploratory agreement before the smelter is even built, and even prouder that our first partner is an Oklahoma-based company. This is a strong signal that Oklahoma is ready to lead the future of aluminum manufacturing.”
Strategically co-located with a planned new U.S. smelter, U.S. Aluminum Company is being built around having direct access to molten aluminum, enabling lower energy intensity, reduced emissions, improved metal quality, and enhanced cost competitiveness versus traditional remelt-based operations. The site is expected to anchor a broader downstream manufacturing ecosystem, attracting additional value-added aluminum processors and suppliers.
“By establishing an aluminum hub in Oklahoma, we are strengthening and shortening the supply chain for a critical metal that supports American industries,” added Jesse Gary, CEO of Century Aluminum. “Today’s announcement highlights the multiplier effect of revitalizing domestic production — attracting new infrastructure investment and creating jobs in adjacent industries.”
Construction of Oklahoma Primary Aluminum is expected to begin by the end of 2026, with first primary aluminum production by the end of the decade.