A West Virginia — and U.S. — success story

The funding will help with Constellium’s Low Carbon SmartMelt Furnace Conversion project, using a first-of-its-kind zero-carbon aluminum casting plant. The project will install low-emissions SmartMelt furnaces that can operate using a range of fuels, including clean hydrogen.

The project will not only reduce carbon emissions, but improve air quality and worker safety, according to information from the Department of Energy.

Constellium also is planning to build a Community Benefits Building that will include a training and wellness center for all employees, as well as building an onsite childcare facility. The plant has over 1,100 employees.

In light of the recent closures of the Cleveland-Cliffs tinplate facility in Weirton and the Novelis ALR Rolled Products aluminum plant in Buckhannon, which combined led to the loss of about 1,000 jobs, the news that Constellium is on solid ground and building for the future is great for not only that region, but the Mountain State.

“Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s industrial strategy, DOE is making the largest investment in industrial decarbonization in the history of the United States. These investments will slash emissions from these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors and ensure American businesses and American workers remain at the forefront of the global economy.”

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said the work done in Ravenswood is critical to the country’s national security.

“Ravenswood’s aluminum industry started here in 1957, and since then, it has helped strengthen our national security and drive the town’s economy for generations,” Manchin said. “The people of West Virginia and Ravenswood have made tremendous sacrifices to provide the energy and raw materials our nation needed to become the greatest industrial might and superpower of the world.”

West Virginia Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael, a Jackson County native whose father worked in the plant when it was under previous ownership, knows the importance of Monday’s announcement.

“As a proud Jackson County native, I know personally how impactful these investments in the aluminum industry can be and am elated another opportunity to revolutionize metals manufacturing right here in the Mountain State will be available,” Carmichael said. “Constellium is home to over 1,000 employees in Ravenswood, and I am heartened to see the company continue to seek opportunities to invest in our great state.

“Everything that has been done here since 1957 validates the past and is a testament to what can occur in West Virginia,” he said. “It also confirms and validates the future of this plant, our community and these workers.”