Statement on the Curtailment of the Magnitude 7 Metals Aluminum Smelter
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Marwa Abdelghani, Industrious Labs, marwa@industriouslabs.org
Date: January 24, 2024
Statement on the Curtailment of the Magnitude 7 Metals Aluminum Smelter
Marston, MO—Today, Magnitude 7 Metals, LLC announced the curtailment of its aluminum smelter in Marston, Missouri. The plant, one of only five remaining primary aluminum smelters in the U.S., employs approximately 450 Union workers. The Marston smelter represents roughly 20% of all primary aluminum production capacity nationwide and is the second-largest plant by capacity. The curtailment is a crisis for workers and the local community, and intervention from the state and federal government is needed to modernize and transform the plant. Magnitude 7 Metals' reference to “abnormally cold weather” in their letter to employees is a distraction from the reality that this smelter is in need of substantial upgrades to modernize their operations. Federal investments in primary aluminum producers like Magnitude 7 Metals are life-saving—both by reducing polluting chemicals emitted from these facilities and by saving jobs.
This curtailment plunges the nation’s aluminum supply into an even deeper crisis. In the past 18 months, efforts to restart the Intalco smelter in Washington state failed, losing the opportunity to restore approximately 700 jobs and one-fifth of current U.S. primary aluminum capacity, while Century Aluminum’s Hawesville, KY, smelter is now fully idle. Aluminum is a critical metal for everything from transmission lines to electric vehicles and solar panels, so the continuing decline of domestic aluminum production is emerging as a dire threat to the clean energy transition.
The causes of primary aluminum’s decades-long decline in the U.S. are myriad, but the current challenge is mainly connected to their dependence on fossil fuels for electricity. The single largest cost of smelting is electricity (40% of total production costs). While U.S. electricity costs are undesirably high for aluminum relative to global rates secured by major aluminum producers, there are ways to reduce them. With new federal programs and the increasing buildout of renewable energy, there are creative solutions to securing the low-carbon, affordable energy that aluminum smelters need.
In response to the announced curtailment, Industrious Labs and partners released the following statements:
James Owen, Executive Director of Renew Missouri:
“This is devastating news for Missouri and the Marston community. The smelter provided a lifeline to the entire community, providing both good Union jobs and taxes to the local economy. Its loss cannot be overstated in a region with few employers. This was avoidable. For too long, the smelter has been dependent on highly-polluting and increasingly expensive dirty energy in spite of our efforts to encourage the plant owners to take advantage of federal funding for on-site clean energy. Missouri’s dependence on fossil fuels is costing families in more ways than one and the company’s failure to seek lower cost energy solutions like wind or solar made the plant uncompetitive.”
Joe Quinn, Vice President of Strategic Industrial Materials, THE SAFE FOUNDATION
“A clean, domestic supply of aluminum is vital for America’s reindustrialization and our national security. Losing Magnitude 7 Metals only deepens the crisis for the American aluminum industry. At a moment of heightened global insecurity, the declining supply of domestic primary production threatens our national military supply chains and further jeopardizes our national readiness. We can restore the aluminum industry and must act urgently, or risk becoming even more dependent on aluminum from foreign entities of concern.”
Ben Jealous, Executive Director, Sierra Club:
"The announced curtailment of this site is a clear call for the need for low cost clean energy in America's heartland. Aluminum is essential to our infrastructure and nation, and this facility is critical to the communities of the Missouri Bootheel. For years, this energy intensive industry has been tied to increasingly expensive and dirty coal. But we can be leaders in the production of clean aluminum. We are calling for the Biden Administration to use the tools of the Inflation Reduction Act to help this facility and our few remaining aluminum smelters to transition to stable, low-cost clean energy, and keep jobs thriving in rural America.”
Annie Sartor, Aluminum Campaign Director, Industrious Labs:
“This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the Biden Administration. We cannot stand by and let the aluminum industry collapse. Today’s announcement is yet another blow to the fragile primary aluminum industry in the United States and a clear signal that the Biden Administration must act swiftly to secure renewable affordable energy to retain this essential material for America’s economy. Without federal investments in the primary aluminum industry, local communities suffer on two fronts: poor air quality and loss of economic mobility. Only access to cheap, abundant clean electricity can stabilize the economics of the primary aluminum industry and put it back on a path to stability.”
Additional Background:
Magnitude 7 Metals’ curtailment is the latest blow to an industry in freefall. In 1980, the U.S. produced 30% of the world’s aluminum at roughly 30 smelters. Until 2000, the U.S. was the largest aluminum producer in the world, when it manufactured 15% of the world’s aluminum. Today, the U.S. is responsible for just one percent of global production across five smelters that typically operate at about half capacity on average and are frequently at risk of shutting down entirely. To compensate for this lack of domestic supply, the U.S. imports about 80% of its primary aluminum despite ample capacity to increase domestic production within its smelters.
A recent report from Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE) highlighted the critical role of aluminum in building out the clean energy economy. “Decarbonizing innovations in primary aluminum technologies can be a lifeline to industry as green aluminum becomes increasingly globally competitive,“ wrote SAFE in their 2023 report “The U.S. Aluminum Industry’s Energy Problem and Energy Solution.” According to another 2023 report, the 2035 aluminum demand for [U.S. wind and solar projects] will be equivalent to about 130% of our current annual consumption levels, and over 150% of our current production levels.
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For additional information or interviews, please contact Marwa Abdelghani at 818-669-3987, or marwa@industriouslabs.org.
