Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company is a United States-based producer of primary aluminum. Unlike fabricators that convert purchased metal into finished components, Century’s core business is the energy-intensive production of aluminum from alumina at reduction facilities, commonly called smelters. Its products are sold as primary aluminum for use by downstream manufacturers and industrial customers. The company has historically operated a geographically concentrated portfolio of smelters in Kentucky and South Carolina in the United States, together with a major facility at Grundartangi in Iceland. A separate Icelandic smelter project at Helguvik was halted during construction and has not become an operating plant. The company was formed in 1995 and expanded through acquisitions and capital investment. It became publicly listed on the NASDAQ in 1996 under the ticker CENX. Century has positioned itself as a large-scale North American primary aluminum producer, with production economics heavily influenced by electricity prices, alumina costs, aluminum market prices, plant utilization, environmental requirements, and the availability of long-term power contracts. Electricity is particularly important because aluminum smelting requires continuous, high-volume power consumption; changes in power pricing have therefore affected the viability of individual facilities and influenced major operating decisions. Century’s operating history includes both expansion and contraction. The company operated facilities at Hawesville and Sebree in Kentucky, Mount Holly in South Carolina, and Grundartangi in Iceland. Its Ravenswood, West Virginia, plant was permanently closed in 2015 after the company cited high energy costs and adverse economic conditions. In December 2015, Century reached an agreement with Santee Cooper Power intended to allow the Mount Holly plant to continue operating at approximately half capacity after the company had warned that unfavorable electricity costs could force closure and affect roughly 600 jobs. In July 2022, Century idled the Hawesville, Kentucky, smelter, citing sharply rising energy prices; the plant had been described as a major North American producer of high-purity primary aluminum and employed hundreds of people. In the reference material, the plant remained idled as of late 2024. Century’s Icelandic operations reflect the same link between smelting and power economics. The company’s Grundartangi facility is an operating primary aluminum smelter, while construction of the proposed Helguvik facility was suspended in 2009. The company’s production therefore depends on a small number of large facilities rather than a broad network of smaller plants. The reference material reports that Century produced 881,000 metric tons of aluminum in 2014, but no current production figure is provided here. The company is publicly traded and headquartered at One South Wacker in Chicago. Its business remains focused on primary aluminum rather than recycled aluminum, downstream consumer goods, or a broad branded product portfolio. Century Aluminum is therefore best understood as an industrial materials producer whose competitive position is shaped by plant scale, power supply, smelter efficiency, commodity cycles, and the operating status of its facilities.

Century Aluminum was formed in 1995 as a United States primary aluminum producer and began building a public-market profile soon afterward, becoming listed on NASDAQ in 1996. Its development was based on acquiring and expanding large aluminum reduction facilities rather than establishing a consumer-facing product brand. Primary aluminum production requires continuous access to substantial electrical power, so the company’s growth and subsequent restructuring have been closely connected to energy contracts, regional electricity markets, aluminum prices, and the efficiency of individual smelters. Over time, Century assembled an operating footprint in the United States and Iceland. Its United States facilities included smelters at Hawesville and Sebree in Kentucky and Mount Holly in South Carolina. In Iceland, the company operated the Grundartangi smelter at Hvalfjörður. Century also began construction of another Icelandic facility at Helguvik, but that project was halted in 2009 and did not become an operating smelter in the supplied material. The company’s facilities produced primary aluminum from alumina rather than aluminum recovered from scrap, placing Century in the upstream segment of the aluminum industry. The company’s scale made it a significant participant in the United States primary aluminum sector. The reference material describes Century as the largest producer of primary aluminum in the United States and reports 2014 production of 881,000 metric tons. Those figures provide historical context, but the supplied sources do not establish a current production total. Century’s business has remained exposed to the cyclical nature of aluminum prices and to the unusually high electricity requirements of smelting. Energy costs became a central issue in the company’s plant decisions. In 2015, Century permanently closed its Ravenswood, West Virginia, facility, formerly associated with approximately 650 jobs. The company cited high energy costs and broader economic headwinds. Later that year, low aluminum prices and the cost of electricity placed the Mount Holly operation under pressure. Century warned that it could close the South Carolina smelter and eliminate roughly 600 jobs unless it obtained less expensive power. An agreement with Santee Cooper Power in December 2015 enabled Mount Holly to continue at approximately half capacity rather than close immediately. The same structural pressures affected Hawesville. In July 2022, Century idled the Kentucky smelter, citing soaring energy prices. Before the curtailment, the company described Hawesville as the largest producer of high-purity primary aluminum in North America and the facility employed hundreds of people. The supplied reference states that Hawesville was still idled in late 2024. This decision illustrates how the company may preserve an asset without maintaining full production when electricity costs make continued operation uneconomic. Century is headquartered at One South Wacker in Chicago and remains a publicly held company traded on NASDAQ under CENX. Its current identity is that of an industrial materials company focused on primary aluminum, with operations and assets determined by the availability and cost of power, plant condition, market demand, and aluminum pricing. The company’s history is therefore defined less by consumer marketing than by smelter acquisitions, capacity investment, power negotiations, facility closures, and production curtailments.

• 2022

  Hawesville idled

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Century idled its Hawesville, Kentucky, smelter in response to soaring energy prices.

• 2015

  Ravenswood closure

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Century permanently closed its Ravenswood, West Virginia, plant, citing high energy costs and economic conditions.

• 2015

  Mount Holly power agreement

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Century reached an agreement with Santee Cooper Power that allowed the Mount Holly smelter to operate at approximately half capacity.

• 2014

  Historical production reported

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  The reference material reports that Century produced 881,000 metric tons of aluminum during 2014.

• 2009

  Helguvik construction halted

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Construction of Century’s proposed fifth smelter in Iceland at Helguvik was halted and remained incomplete in the supplied reference material.

• 1996

  NASDAQ listing

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Century became a publicly listed company on NASDAQ under the ticker CENX.

• 1995

  Company formed

  [1]Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org

  Century Aluminum was formed as a United States primary aluminum producer.

Large-scale primary aluminum producer with operations in the United States and Iceland; its economics are closely tied to electricity supply, commodity prices, and smelter utilization.

• Industrial metals

  Primary aluminum

  Century’s principal output is primary aluminum made by electrolytically reducing alumina in industrial smelters. The metal is supplied as an upstream material for downstream manufacturers and industrial users. Production economics depend on aluminum prices, alumina availability, electricity contracts, plant utilization, and smelter efficiency. The company does not primarily present itself as a consumer-goods brand; its offering is industrial commodity metal produced at large fixed facilities.

• Specialty industrial metals

  High-purity primary aluminum

  The Hawesville facility was described in the reference material as the largest producer of high-purity primary aluminum in North America before it was idled in 2022. High-purity aluminum serves industrial applications that require tighter material specifications than ordinary primary metal. The supplied sources do not provide a detailed current product specification or confirm ongoing production at Hawesville.

• 2022

  Idle Hawesville smelterStrategy

  Background

  Century faced sharply higher electricity prices at its Hawesville, Kentucky, facility, a major producer of high-purity primary aluminum.

  Action taken

  The company idled Hawesville in July 2022, citing soaring energy prices.

  Aftermath

  The plant was still reported as idled in late 2024. Hundreds of jobs were associated with the facility before the curtailment.

  Source

• 2015

  Close Ravenswood plantOther

  Background

  Century cited high energy costs and adverse economic conditions affecting the viability of its Ravenswood, West Virginia, aluminum plant.

  Action taken

  The company permanently closed the Ravenswood facility in 2015.

  Aftermath

  The closure ended production at the plant, which had formerly employed approximately 650 people.

  Source

• 2015

  Curtail Mount Holly to half capacityStrategy

  Background

  Low aluminum prices and electricity costs placed the Mount Holly, South Carolina, smelter under pressure. Century warned that it could close the facility and affect roughly 600 jobs without cheaper power.

  Action taken

  Following a December agreement with Santee Cooper Power, Century continued operating Mount Holly at approximately half capacity.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement allowed the South Carolina operation to remain open on a reduced-capacity basis rather than undergo the threatened immediate closure.

  Source

• 2009

  Suspend Helguvik smelter constructionStrategy

  Background

  Century had been developing a proposed additional aluminum smelter at Helguvik in Iceland, but construction was halted in 2009.

  Action taken

  The company stopped construction of the fifth Icelandic smelter project, leaving it incomplete.

  Aftermath

  Helguvik remained a non-operating, unfinished project in the supplied reference material, while Grundartangi continued as the company’s operating Icelandic smelter.

  Source

1. 1Century Aluminumen.wikipedia.org