Century Aluminum Company Announces Letter of Intention with Qair for the Supply of Wind Power to Grundartangi Smelter and Cooperation on CO2 Capture

CHICAGO, Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ: CENX) announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Norðurál Grundartangi ehf (“Norðurál”), and Qair, an independent renewable power producer, have signed a letter of intent for the supply to the Grundartangi smelter of green electricity originating from two of Qair’s windfarms with a total installed capacity of 200 MW under development in Iceland.

In addition, the two companies have agreed to join forces in the development of a solution to capture CO₂ from the Grundartangi smelter. If successful, the captured CO₂ would be used for the production of eFuel in connection with Qair’s hydrogen plant which is planned on a site next to Grundartangi.

“At Century we are committed to the highest possible environmental standards across all of our operations, as evidenced by our continued focus on reducing the carbon footprint of our aluminum products and working to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, commented Gunnar Guðlaugsson, Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Managing Director of Norðurál. “Our cooperation with Qair at Grundartangi could prove to become an important step in our journey to lower carbon emissions.”

Aluminum made from 100% Icelandic renewable energy

Grundartangi uses Iceland’s 100% renewable energy resources to create Natur-Al™ aluminum, which has one of the lowest CO₂ footprints in the world. Natur-Al™ has less than a quarter of the CO₂ content than the industry average, fulfilling the growing demand from Europe’s most environmentally conscious consumers. The company is committed to minimize its environmental impact even further and is certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) for responsible production.

Qair intends to develop, build, own, and operate two windfarms totaling installed capacity of 200 MW and supply electricity to Grundartangi through a power purchase agreement.

About Century Aluminum Company

Century Aluminum Company owns primary aluminum capacity in the United States and Iceland. Century's corporate offices are located in Chicago, IL. Visit www.centuryaluminum.com for more information. Grundartangi is one of Iceland’s largest industrial facilities and produces aluminum in a responsible, safe and efficient manner.   Annual production is 320,000 tonnes of aluminum. The company constantly strives towards minimizing its environmental impact and responsible use of energy and raw materials.

Cautionary Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are statements about future events and are based on our current expectations. These forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "hope," "target," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "seek," "estimate," "potential," "project," "scheduled," "forecast" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could," "might," or "may." Our forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements with respect to: our assessment of global and local financial and economic conditions; our assessment of the aluminum market and aluminum prices; our plans and expectations regarding a potential power purchase agreement being entered into between Norðurál Grundartangi and Qair; the ability of Qair to both build the two windfarms and then supply green electricity to Norðurál Grundartangi; our assessment and plans for a solution to capture CO₂ from the Norðurál Grundartangi smelter; and our assessment of the current global climate challenge and the role that Century and its subsidiaries may play.

Where we express an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. However, our forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by those forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results and events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements can be found in the risk factors and forward-looking statements cautionary language contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although we have attempted to identify those material factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those described in such forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contact
Peter Trpkovski
(Investors and media)
312-696-3132

Source: Century Aluminum Company