By Bob Tita

Century Aluminum is abandoning plans to build a new smelter on its own and joining up with a Dubai-based company to develop one in Oklahoma.

Emirates Global Aluminum last year said it planned to build the company's first U.S. smelter near Tulsa. Under the revised plan, Century Aluminum would take a 40% stake in the venture, with Emirates Global Aluminum owning the remaining 60%.

The smelter would be able to produce 750,000 metric tons of aluminum annually, a volume that would make it the largest smelter in the U.S. Most aluminum produced in the U.S. now is derived from recycled scrap.

Aluminum smelters have been difficult to operate in the U.S. for decades. Rising costs for the huge volumes of electricity needed to turn aluminum oxide powder into metal have made American smelters more expensive to operate than those elsewhere in the world. Emirates Global Aluminum has yet to announce a long-term electricity supply contract for the Oklahoma site.

Chicago-based Century had searched for a long-term contract with a power provider for a new smelter for about two years. The company said it found tough competition from power-hungry data center developers willing to pay more for electricity than an industrial power user.

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January 26, 2026 17:19 ET (22:19 GMT)

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