Alcoa receives financial support to expand aluminum sheet production

The US Department of Energy (DOE) will issue a loan to Alcoa to support its expansion in Tennessee. The commitment is seen as the first step towards a $ 259 million loan, and the final approval of the loan requires the completion of certain steps outlined in the contract.

These funds will cover most of the $ 275 million cost for an expansion project already underway at Alcoa, which previously produced cans for aluminum cans and plans to start producing high-strength aluminum for auto makers and aluminum structures for construction organizations. Alcoa is the largest American steel company and the world's third largest aluminum producer.

Since 1913, Alcoa has produced thousands of different products for the construction, aerospace and military, consumer and other markets in Tennessee. Today's Tennessee operations are exclusively dedicated to the production of high quality liquid metal and aluminum sheet for beverage cans. The enterprise is the world leader in this business and one of the most modern aluminum smelters in the world.

Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Kleinfeld said the lending program could "stimulate a greater shift in the production of aluminum vehicles that are lighter and more fuel efficient." The company expects the loan to help it create 200 permanent full-time jobs.

The main condition put forward by the Department of Energy under the Advanced Technology vehicle loan program is a period of four years. The agency has lent money to automakers before. However, the provision of low-cost public funds was frozen after the breakup of Fisker, which won a $ 529 million loan commitment under the program. But in 2013, Fisker filed for bankruptcy and the loan was lost.