Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) announced today the progression of plans to develop the first new primary aluminium production plant in the U.S. since 1980. The company expects the plant to have a production capacity of 600 thousand tons of primary aluminium per year, nearly doubling the U.S.’s production of the essential material.
Around 85 percent of the aluminium needs of American industries, from automotive to aviation and construction, are currently met by imports, said EGA.
Construction of EGA’s U.S. primary aluminium plant will begin after a feasibility study and by the end of 2026, with first hot metal by the end of the decade. EGA is expecting to invest around $4 billion to develop the project.
This announcement is part of the UAE’s $200 billion investment commitment made on Thursday during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Abu Dhabi.
Location to provide efficient bulk freight movement
EGA’s primary aluminium production plant will be located in Oklahoma, subject to the finalization of a competitive long-term power supply for the plant and State and local investment incentives and tax credit arrangements. EGA also said it is in advanced negotiations with Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) and the Oklahoma government.
The company has already signed an exclusive land option agreement for a site in the industrial park at Tulsa Port of Inola, located in Inola, Oklahoma. Near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Tulsa Port of Inola is located on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (M-KARNS), which is connected to the Mississippi River system and provides for efficient bulk freight movement.
“The United States has been an important market for EGA for several decades, and we know there is strong demand for our high-quality metal ‘made in America’. EGA has the skills, technology and capital to start rebuilding this great American industry, and in Oklahoma, I am confident we will secure the right conditions to do so,” stated Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA.
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EGA to expand U.S. recycled foundry capacity
The project will create up to 4,000 local construction jobs at peak. In operation, the aluminium facility will likely create up to 1,000 direct, permanent local jobs on site. In addition, EGA’s new U.S. primary aluminium production plant will spur the development of a new local aluminium-focused industrial hub, with significant employment and economic opportunities in the upstream supply chain and in new downstream aluminium manufacturing.
EGA is a global leader in aluminium production technology, which the company has developed for more than 35 years. EGA technology will be used to build the new plant. The United States is already one of EGA’s largest single-country markets in the world, with aluminium fabricators using EGA metal across the country.
The company already has U.S. recycled aluminium production capacity through the company’s 80 percent shareholding in EGA Spectro Alloys.
EGA added that it is currently investing to expand the current 110 thousand tons per year of recycled foundry capacity with 55 thousand tons of recycled billet capacity. The expansion will reach first hot metal early in the second half of 2025, with production ramp-up through the remainder of the year.
