Highlights

• DOE awards $500M to Century Aluminum for America's first new primary aluminum smelter since 1980 in Inola, Oklahoma, set to produce 500,000+ metric tons annually including 20,000 tons for defense applications.
• U.S. aluminum production collapsed from 33 facilities producing 5M tons at peak to just 4 smelters producing 683,500 tons in 2024, with net imports reaching 2.46M metric tons.
• Century Aluminum's joint venture with Emirates Global Aluminum demonstrates how federal incentives and strategic partnerships are reshoring critical materials processing capacity essential to defense, aerospace, and infrastructure supply chains.

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This Rare Earth Exchanges™ (REEx) brief examines (opens in a new tab) the Department of Energy’s $500 million grant supporting Century Aluminum’s (opens in a new tab) new primary aluminum smelter in Inola, Oklahoma. The project marks the first new U.S. primary aluminum smelter since 1980 and signals renewed federal commitment to reshoring critical materials production tied to defense, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Team

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson joined Century Aluminum executives to highlight progress on constructing what will become the largest primary aluminum smelter in U.S. history.

Backed by a $500 million award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), the Inola, Oklahoma facility is expected to produce more than 500,000 metric tons of primary aluminum annually, including roughly 20,000 tons of high-purity aluminum suitable for defense applications.

Century Aluminum announced in January a joint venture with Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), reflecting foreign capital participation aligned with U.S. industrial policy objectives. Federal officials framed the project as a strategic milestone in reversing decades of domestic smelting decline.

The numbers are stark. In 2024, the United States operated just four primary aluminum smelters producing approximately 683,500 metric tons — down sharply from the nation’s historic peak of 33 facilities and up to 5 million tons annually. Net aluminum imports totaled 2.46 million metric tons last year.

While aluminum is not a rare earth element, it is foundational to the broader critical materials ecosystem — used in aerospace, defense platforms, grid infrastructure, and transportation electrification. Domestic smelting capacity strengthens upstream resilience across multiple supply chains.

This project demonstrates that federal incentives, trade policy, and strategic partnerships can mobilize capital for heavy industry. For critical mineral investors, the signal is clear: midstream and materials processing capacity are once again central to U.S. industrial strategy. The aluminum renaissance may not grab headlines like rare earths — but it reinforces the same lesson. Industrial sovereignty begins with domestic production.

REEx congratulates Secretary Wright and team, as well as the Trump administration for achieving this milestone.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, February 10, 2026.