Century Aluminum and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have announced progress on building a new primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma. The project is supported by a grant from the DOE.
“Today, I was honored to meet with the team that will be delivering America’s first new aluminum smelter of the 21st century,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “This project could not have been realized without President Trump’s commitment to revitalizing this country’s manufacturing base and reducing our reliance on foreign suppliers. Century Aluminum’s joint venture shows how President Trump’s economic policies are encouraging global companies to partner with U.S. firms, build here in America, and create good-paying American jobs.”
The planned facility will be the largest primary aluminum production plant in the United States, expected to produce over 500,000 tons of primary aluminum annually. This includes about 20,000 tons of high-purity aluminum for national defense needs. On January 26, 2026, Century Aluminum announced it would jointly develop the plant with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA). EGA’s investment follows a strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United States announced in Abu Dhabi on May 15, 2025.
In 2025, DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations awarded $500 million for construction of this smelter—the first such facility built in the U.S. since 1980. The initiative aims to demonstrate that domestic smelting is economically viable and can reduce dependence on imports.
According to recent data, four primary aluminum smelters currently operate in the United States with a combined output of 683,500 metric tons per year—a significant decline from previous decades when up to 33 sites produced as much as five million tons annually. In 2024 alone, net imports totaled about 2.46 million metric tons after accounting for both imports and exports.
President Trump has implemented tariffs and other trade measures intended to protect domestic production of critical minerals and materials like aluminum.
DOE continues its broader efforts to support clean energy initiatives across sectors through various programs funded by federal legislation such as President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law including $225 million for building energy code implementation. Additional investments include $96 million for advancing clean vehicle technologies and over 140 programs supporting equitable distribution of clean energy investments under Justice40 Initiative guidelines.
