Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is talking to potential investors about building a US aluminum smelter, with its ambitions having grown substantially since the idea was floated in May.
The Abu Dhabi producer is negotiating with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and others for a smelter in Oklahoma costing up to $6 billion and producing 750,000 tons a year, Bloomberg reported. In May, when setting out its plans, EGA spoke of a $4 billion facility with a capacity of 600,000 tons annually.
As well as capital, the project relies on securing long-term power supplies — no simple matter at a time of surging demand from AI data centers. The US imports about half of the aluminum it uses, including some from the UAE, but President Donald Trump’s tariffs have led to a surge in prices for US buyers.
EGA and China’s Sunstone are also pushing ahead with a UAE plant that will make anodes needed for aluminum smelting, which will turn the Gulf country from an importer to an exporter of the carbon blocks.