Forging America's Aluminum Future: A Plan to End Foreign Reliance

OAKLAND, CA – June 24, 2026 – A new partnership is set to fundamentally reshape the American industrial landscape, promising to forge the first fully domestic aluminum supply chain from mine to metal. Innovator Brimstone and Century Aluminum, the largest U.S. primary aluminum producer, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that aims to break a decades-long dependence on foreign materials and secure a critical resource for national security and economic growth.

Under the agreement, Brimstone will supply Century Aluminum with smelter-grade alumina—the essential precursor to aluminum—from a forthcoming plant that utilizes a breakthrough process. This move directly confronts a glaring vulnerability in the U.S. supply chain: the complete reliance on imported bauxite ore to produce alumina. By creating a resilient domestic source, the partnership seeks to insulate a vital industry from geopolitical volatility and spur a new era of American manufacturing.

A Strategic Push for Supply Chain Sovereignty

For decades, the United States has been in a precarious position regarding aluminum. While the metal is designated a critical mineral essential for defense, aerospace, grid infrastructure, and transportation, the nation imports the vast majority of what it needs. The core of this dependency lies in alumina. The U.S. has no economically viable bauxite deposits, the ore traditionally used to make alumina. Consequently, domestic aluminum smelters are entirely reliant on imported alumina or its feedstock, with China dominating approximately 60% of global production.

“Foreign sources, including China, currently dominate global alumina production. Brimstone is bringing alumina production home and doing it at a globally competitive price,” said Cody Finke, CEO of Brimstone. “Our partnership with Century is building a resilient domestic critical minerals supply chain—strengthening national security, reducing import dependence, and creating high-quality American jobs.”

This strategic alignment comes as aluminum demand is projected to surge by as much as 40% by 2030, fueled by the AI data center boom, grid modernization, and defense needs. The Brimstone-Century MOU is a direct response to this mounting pressure, aiming to provide price stability and supply assurance that the global market cannot guarantee. By onshoring alumina production, the U.S. can mitigate risks associated with trade disputes, shipping disruptions, and the strategic maneuvering of foreign governments.

The Bauxite-Free Breakthrough

At the heart of this industrial pivot is Brimstone’s innovative technology. Founded in 2019, the company developed a process that circumvents bauxite entirely, instead using abundant calcium-bearing silicate rock, which is widely available across the United States. This patented “Rock Refinery” process not only resolves the feedstock import issue but also presents significant environmental advantages over the conventional, century-old Bayer process.

Traditional alumina refining generates massive quantities of caustic red mud, a toxic byproduct that poses significant disposal and environmental challenges. Brimstone’s method avoids this entirely. Furthermore, the company’s process is based on co-production, refining a single rock into multiple high-value materials. Alongside alumina, it produces industry-standard Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCM). Critically, Brimstone's cement has been validated to meet existing ASTM C150 standards, a major hurdle for new materials seeking entry into the risk-averse construction market.

This co-production model is key to the company's claim of producing materials at or below market prices without a “green premium.” While some materials science experts express caution about the historic difficulty of scaling complex, multi-product industrial processes, Brimstone’s progress has attracted significant attention and over $80 million in funding from investors like Breakthrough Energy Ventures and the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund.

Revitalizing American Aluminum Manufacturing

The partnership provides a critical lifeline for the revitalization of American primary aluminum production, an industry that has seen decades of decline due to high energy costs and foreign competition. Century Aluminum is already making substantial investments to reverse this trend. The company is restarting idle capacity at its Mt. Holly, South Carolina plant—a $50 million investment creating over 100 jobs—and is involved in plans to build the first new domestic smelter in nearly 50 years in Inola, Oklahoma.

These expansions require a massive and reliable supply of alumina. The MOU with Brimstone provides a clear path to source that supply domestically, making U.S. smelters more efficient and competitive. “Securing additional domestic supply of alumina will encourage growth by making domestic production more efficient and cost-effective,” noted Matt Aboud, senior vice president of strategy at Century Aluminum.

This synergy between an innovator and an established producer exemplifies a broader trend of re-shoring essential manufacturing. The development of Brimstone’s facilities alone is expected to generate hundreds of construction and permanent jobs, anchoring a new industrial ecosystem and providing a powerful case study for the return of American heavy industry.

The Path from Lab to Industrial Scale

Brimstone's ambition is matched by a pragmatic, multi-stage development plan. Following pilot operations, the company is targeting 2028 for its commercial demonstration plant in Reno, Nevada, to become operational. The first full industrial-scale plant, with an expected annual capacity of 350,000 metric tons of alumina, is anticipated by 2034. The company is already making headway, signing a letter of intent with Dolese Bros. Co. to supply raw materials in Oklahoma, a strong contender for the site of its first large-scale refinery.

The journey is not without its challenges. In a move that highlights the rigorous scrutiny applied to large-scale industrial projects, the Department of Energy recently withdrew a conditional $189 million funding award intended for the demonstration plant, citing that the project had not yet met all economic and security standards. Brimstone is appealing the decision, stating its commitment to advancing the project with or without the funding, and continues to attract commercial interest. In a significant vote of confidence, Amazon has already signed a commercial agreement to purchase Brimstone’s low-carbon cement, validating the market appeal of its co-products.

This combination of technological innovation, strategic partnership, and industrial revitalization represents a pivotal moment. The collaboration between Brimstone and Century Aluminum is more than just a business deal; it is a foundational step toward rebuilding a secure, independent, and competitive American aluminum industry for the 21st century.