Constellium has announced that its facility located in Ravenswood, West Virginia, was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to begin award negotiations for up to $75 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program (IDP). 

This investment will help fund the implementation of breakthrough low-to-no emissions technologies in Constellium’s Ravenswood facility, supporting the decarbonisation of the casthouses, the plant’s most energy intensive operation.

This investment will support the installation of low-emissions SmartMelt furnaces that can operate using a range of fuels, including clean hydrogen, paving the way towards a zero carbon casthouse. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, the project is expected to help maximise recycled scrap intake, and to improve worker safety with the introduction of a hands-free casting process.  

The project will also contribute to the local communities around Ravenswood with a dedicated budget to build a new training and wellness centre for all employees and an onsite childcare, and to provide financial and technical resources for local schools and universities. 

Built in 1957, with over 1,200 employees, Constellium’s plant in Ravenswood, West Virginia is one of the world’s largest aluminium rolled products facilities. The facility produces plate, sheet, and coil products for aerospace, defence, transportation, marine, and industrial uses. 

“We are honoured and proud to have been selected for this investment and express our gratitude to the Department of Energy for their support of Constellium and the aluminium industry”, said Jean-Marc Germain, CEO of Constellium. “Public investments such as the ones made through the Inflation Reduction Act are essential to accelerate the decarbonisation of our industry, and we are looking forward to working with the DOE to promote a competitive and sustainable domestic aluminium industry.”

“Ravenswood’s aluminium industry started here in 1957 and helped drive the economy of this town for generations. But, as the people of this community know, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing”, said Senator Joe Manchin. “The people of West Virginia and Ravenswood have sacrificed for generations to provide the energy and raw materials our nation needed to become the greatest industrial might the world has ever seen. I am proud that this $75 million investment will continue that legacy and help to grow the aluminium industry in Ravenswood while bringing new economic opportunity to the entire Mountain State.” 

“We are proud to partner with the federal government to accelerate zero-carbon technologies and reduce carbon emissions”, said Brian E. McCallie, Vice-President of Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood. This investment will not only support our facility in Ravenswood, a long-term supplier of the aerospace and defence industry, but also contribute to the community we proudly serve.” 

Constellium Ravenswood will now enter negotiations on the specific terms of the investment, including operational milestones, and timing of access to funds throughout the life of the project, estimated to be approximately five years. The final details of the project investment are subject to these negotiations.