On January 21, 2025, Alcoa Inespal SL, a subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation, and IGNIS Equity Holdings, SL (IGNIS EQT), the majority shareholder of the IGNIS Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Spanish government and Xunta de Galicia to support the future of San Ciprián operations.

Alcoa’s Global Vice President Energy, Álvaro Dorado Baselga, said that their joint step is important to improve the long-term outlook for San Ciprián, and they would also continue negotiations with key stakeholders, including the national Trade Unions and the local Workers Council.

The MoU outlines the process for the parties’ cooperation, including prioritizing the restart of the smelter, simplifying the authorization of renewable energy projects for competitive energy costs, providing higher CO2 compensation support, and giving support for the approval of the residue storage area (RSA) capital projects.

Alcoa and IGNIS EQT will continue to work towards finalizing the conditions required for the joint venture agreement and are working with the San Ciprián workers unions to support operations.