Aluminum facility once planned for NKY picks different state for expansion
The country’s largest producer of aluminum is locating its next smelter in Oklahoma instead of Northern Kentucky, leaving the Bluegrass State without thousands of new jobs that have been discussed for almost two years.
The aluminum smelter development — where the process of extracting aluminum is done before it is cast or molded — was once heralded by the governor, his economic development cabinet and other local leaders as Northeastern Kentucky’s largest prospective investment.
But Century Aluminum and Emirates Global Aluminum will locate their joint venture just outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, instead. It marks the second time in the last decade where an aluminum plant opted not to build in Kentucky.
In 2017, Braidy Industries said it would put a nearly $2 billion aluminum mill in Ashland that would employ more than 500 people. The company never broke ground and in 2022, the state recouped $15 million in taxpayer dollars and returned a more than 200-acre property back to the local industrial authority.
The Century Aluminum project is the first new U.S. aluminum smelter built in 45 years and could have been the largest investment on record in Eastern Kentucky. It was projected to create over 5,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent, full-time jobs, in addition to an at least $5 billion investment.
In a statement sent to the Herald-Leader, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s spokesperson Scottie Ellis said the news was “disappointing,” especially since the governor’s office “helped the company secure a significant grant based on an application saying the project would come to Kentucky.”
“Through direct conversations with company leaders, we understand that this decision was driven by the company they’ve entered into a joint venture with,” Ellis continued. “Gov. Beshear and his administration have secured the first-, second-, third-, and fifth-best years for economic investment, and that work will continue as we have several exciting potential projects looking at northeastern Kentucky right now.”
Chicago-based Century Aluminum has a Kentucky smelter in Henderson County where it employs approximately 625 people. The company shut down its Hancock County location in 2022 due to high energy costs linked to the war in Ukraine. More than 600 people were laid off in Hawesville, a town with a population of roughly 950.
The company’s decision to add another smelter has relied largely on where it could access reliable utilities, especially electricity, for cheap.
The American aluminum company said Jan. 26 it would take a 40% stake in the smelter the United Arab Emirates company first said it would build in May 2025. Emirates Global Aluminum said in October it expected to invest $4 billion in the project, but financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With Century part of the development — which is expected to start construction before the end of 2026 — capacity has increased from 600,000 metric tons of aluminum per year to 750,000 tons, according to Reuters.
“About 85 percent of the aluminum needs of American industries are currently met by imports,” the two companies said in a statement. “The new smelter will expand the domestic supply of this critical mineral and grow the American aluminum workforce, revitalizing U.S. aluminum expertise and know-how.”
By imposing tariffs on imports of aluminum, President Donald Trump has attempted to incentivize domestic production of the metal, which is on the country’s list of critical minerals, or those identified by the Department of the Interior for high vulnerability to supply chain disruptions.
In June, the tariff was doubled to 50%, increasing the premium on aluminum supplied to the midwest on top of an exchange rate for physical metal. According to Reuters, aluminum prices hit a record $0.99 per pound this month.
When the project was solely on the shoulders of Century Aluminum, the smelter’s completion was expected to double the size of the current U.S. primary aluminum industry and avoid 75% of emissions.
When it was awarded the grant in March 2024, the company said it expected to build its new smelter site within the Ohio and Mississippi River basins. In January 2025, Kentucky was still the company’s preferred location, according to Kentucky Public Radio.
The company is likely to put the grant toward its work with Emirates Global Aluminum in Oklahoma, though it’s unclear whether the smelter will include some of the same green principles as originally proposed.
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