# Oklahoma primary aluminium smelter by Emirates Global Aluminium Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/materials/oklahoma-smelter Frontier: [Materials](https://technooptimist.io/materials.md) · Field: Aluminium & titanium · Company: [Emirates Global Aluminium](https://technooptimist.io/companies/emirates-global-aluminium.md) Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling) Updated: last update 2026-09-10, facts checked 2026-10-11 Goal: Make primary aluminium in the US again at scale. The US imports about 85% of the aluminium it uses; one modern smelter would more than double domestic primary production. Status: Engineering under way; power deal unsigned; construction now targeted for early 2027 after end-2026 aim. Next milestone: Long-term power deal with Public Service Co. of Oklahoma, target 2026 ## Milestones | Status | Milestone | Date | Slip | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Done | EX cell design phase completed | Jul 2024 | | | Done | MOU signed with the State of Oklahoma | 21 Apr 2025 | | | Done | Inola site announced as preferred location | 16 May 2025 | | | Done | Century Aluminum joins (40%); plant upsized to 750 kt/yr | Jan 2026 | | | Current | Long-term power deal with Public Service Co. of Oklahoma | 2026 | | | Planned | Final investment decision and construction start | 2027 | +3 mo (originally Q4 2026) | | Planned | EX technology fully industrialised | 2028 | | | Planned | First hot metal | | | ## Upcoming events - **2026**: Long-term power deal with Public Service Co. of Oklahoma - **2027**: Final investment decision and construction start (slipped 3 mo) - **2028**: EX technology fully industrialised ## Most important updates - **10 Sep 2026**: EGA project director: Oklahoma smelter construction targeted for early 2027, power deal still in negotiation. Ziad Fares, project director for Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, said construction is now targeted for early 2027, later than the end-2026 goal set in January. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/ega-project-director-oklahoma-smelter-construction-targeted-for-early-7a942a2a.md) · [original source](https://www.alcircle.com/news/interview/can-oklahoma-reshape-us-aluminium-supply-egas-ziad-fares-explains-the-project-121131)) - **27 Jan 2026**: Century Aluminum joins EGA's Oklahoma smelter as 40% partner; capacity raised to 750,000 tonnes. EGA and Century Aluminum signed a joint development agreement for the Inola smelter, with EGA holding 60% and Century 40%. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/century-aluminum-joins-ega-s-oklahoma-smelter-as-40-partner-capacity-2908e04a.md) · [original source](https://metalpackager.com/2026/01/century-aluminum-ega-oklahoma/)) - **16 May 2025**: Oklahoma selected for EGA's planned $4 billion primary aluminium smelter. Oklahoma's governor and commerce department announced that EGA had chosen the Tulsa Port of Inola as its preferred site for the first new US primary aluminium plant in 45 years. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/oklahoma-selected-for-ega-s-planned-4-billion-primary-aluminium-smelter-8ac865e0.md) · [original source](https://www.okcommerce.gov/oklahoma-selected-for-4-billion-investment-from-emirates-global-aluminium/)) ## Current obstacles - **Power contract not signed**: Talks with Public Service Company of Oklahoma on a long-term, competitively priced supply are advanced but unfinished, and construction depends on them. - **No final investment decision yet**: Construction start has moved from end-2026 to early 2027 and still needs feasibility, permits, a definitive JV agreement and FID. ## Physics limits - **Smelting is limited by electricity**: Aluminium is made by electrolysis, so power is a main cost; a smelter only works with large, steady, cheap supply. EGA's 37.5% efficiency gain since 1990 shows how slowly that floor moves. - **Carbon anodes still emit CO2**: In the Hall-Héroult process the carbon anode reacts with the oxygen in alumina, so CO2 comes with every tonne however clean the power is. ## How it works ### Smelting: Alumina split by electric current Alumina is dissolved in a molten salt bath and a huge direct current pulls out liquid aluminium. Carbon anodes are consumed and release CO2. ### EX cells: Bigger cells, higher current EGA's EX cells are larger than its previous design and run at higher amperage and current efficiency, so each cell makes more metal. ### Logistics: River port site The site sits on the McClellan-Kerr waterway linked to the Mississippi, with rail and barge access for alumina in and metal out. ### Products: Billets, sheet ingot, alloys Planned output includes billets, sheet ingots, high-purity aluminium and foundry alloys for aerospace, defence, cars and packaging. ## Spec sheet | Spec | Oklahoma primary aluminium smelter | Provenance | | --- | --- | --- | | Planned capacity | ~750,000 t/yr aluminium | reported | | Estimated investment | ~US$4 billion | reported | | Permanent direct jobs | ~1,000 | reported | | Ownership | EGA 60% / Century Aluminum 40% | reported | | EX output gain vs DX+ Ultra | Up to 22% more per cell | reported | | Oklahoma direct support | >US$275 million | reported | | Site | >350 acres, Tulsa Port of Inola | reported | Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure. ## About Emirates Global Aluminium Abu Dhabi aluminium producer formed in 2013 from Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium, owned by Mubadala and Investment Corporation of Dubai. It designs its own smelting cells and is planning the first new US smelter in decades. - Planning a 750,000 t/yr smelter in Inola, Oklahoma with Century Aluminum (60/40), the first new US smelter since 1980. - Its 10th-generation EX cells are larger and run at higher current, for up to 22% more output than its DX+ Ultra cells. - Says it has cut electricity per tonne of aluminium by 37.5% since 1990. - Founded: 2013 - Headquarters: AE - Status: private - Website: https://www.ega.ae - Partners, customers, investors: Century Aluminum (partner); Bechtel (partner); State of Oklahoma (partner) Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/emirates-global-aluminium.md ## Related programs Everything in Materials: https://technooptimist.io/materials.md --- The Techno Optimist tracks every frontier of technology, program by program: https://technooptimist.io/ (a Markdown version of any page: add .md to its URL; site map for agents: https://technooptimist.io/llms.txt). 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