By Will Feuer


Century Aluminum said it is starting negotiations for up to $500 million in funding from the U.S. government that will go toward building the first new U.S. primary aluminum smelter in 45 years.

The smelter, once completed, would double the size of the current U.S. primary aluminum industry. The company said the project will strengthen U.S. supply chains for materials that are critical to key parts of the green-energy transition.

Century said it expects to build the new smelter at a site in the Ohio-Mississippi River Basins. The project is expected to create more than 1,000 full-time, union-represented jobs, in addition to over 5,500 construction jobs.

The company, the largest producer of primary aluminum in the U.S., said it was selected by the Energy Department to receive the funding, which will come from the 2021 Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.


Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-25-24 0631ET