Kentucky recoups $15M investment in proposed aluminum mill

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has announced that the commonwealth has secured the return of $15 million that former Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration invested in an aluminum mill in northeastern Kentucky that has yet to be constructed.

The land, which was acquired as part of the proposed project, also will be donated back to the local communities to be used for future economic development opportunities as part of a larger land transaction being negotiated, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The investment has been returned to Commonwealth Seed Capital (CSC), which, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development’s website is “an independent fund that invests in early stage Kentucky businesses to facilitate the commercialization of innovative ideas and technologies. CSC invests in companies that have a significant Kentucky presence, the prospect for substantial growth and the potential to generate an appropriate rate of return.” CSC group will send the money to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA), the governor’s office says.

“This announcement has been a long time coming, and I want to recognize members of this administration and Commonwealth Seed Capital, as well as Unity Aluminum, for coming together to do what is right for the community and Kentucky by returning these funds to the commonwealth,” Beshear says in the news release about the return of the funds. “Given the current economic momentum we are experiencing across the state, I am confident we will secure a significant project on the property as it is a great site for a potential employer.”

The $15 million direct investment by the state was approved in 2017. The stalled aluminum project initially went by the name of Braidy Industries but changed its name to Unity Aluminum in 2020. Executive and board positions at the company also have undergone changes since 2020, as the project has failed to break ground meaningfully. The mill’s last price tag, according to the Louisville, Kentucky-based Courier Journal, was $2.2 billion, though much of that funding had not been secured.

Unity Aluminum recently entered into a joint venture with Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI), Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through that investment, SDI will build a 650,000-metric-ton recycled aluminum flat-roll mill and two supporting satellite recycled aluminum slab centers. SDI says it will own more than 94 percent of the rolling mill facility. Ashland, Kentucky-based Unity’s employees provide significant aluminum industry operating expertise to the project, SDI says, complementing its own construction and operating talent.

In addition to the return of funds by Unity, the joint venture between SDI and Unity has reached an agreement in principle to donate the property upon which the mill was to be built—approximately 205 acres and a spec building—to the original owner, the Northeast Kentucky Regional Industrial Authority. The parties also are negotiating the industrial authority’s acquisition of additional parcels owned by the company below the original acquisition cost, the governor’s office says.

“We have always been excited by the potential of eastern Kentucky, and returning this land will help the communities realize this potential,” Unity Senior Vice President Curtis Carson says.

Tim Gibbs, president/CEO of Ashland Alliance, says the region is prepared to support future business.

“This has been a long process. We have, from the beginning, highlighted what this region, this regional industrial park and our people could represent to the business community and the world,” Gibbs says. “We appreciate the leadership of the commonwealth of Kentucky, and we look forward to getting back to what we do best, working for a stronger economy for the people of northeast Kentucky.”