Alcoa, United States-based aluminium producer, and Ignis EQT, Spanish renewable-energy developer, have resumed the phased restart of the 228,000-tonne-per-year San Cibrao smelter in Galicia after securing government assurances that April’s nationwide power outage will not recur. The partners now expect the plant to remain loss-making to the tune of €77–94 million ($89–109 million) in 2025 and to burn a further $110–130 million in cash as full production slips to mid-2026.  
Blackout Investigation Clears Path
Spain’s 28 April blackout, which cut 60 % of national demand in five seconds, was traced to a failure on the cross-border link with France rather than to domestic renewables or industrial load. Madrid has pledged accelerated grid investments and new redundancy protocols; grid operator Red Eléctrica has already outlined priority spending on high-voltage corridors serving Galicia’s electro-intensive cluster.
Financial Hit from the Delay
Alcoa calculates that each month of lost output costs roughly $15 million in missed sales and fixed-cost absorption. The revised loss estimate of $89–109 million for 2025 compares with a prior projection of break-even, reflecting revenue now pushed into 2026. Operating cash outflows of $110–130 million include pot repairs, anode replacements and extra power purchases while the refinery continues at reduced rates.
Grid Upgrades and Energy Strategy
The outage has sharpened official focus on infrastructure: Spain’s contribution to a wider European plan for €345 billion in grid spending through 2029 is expected to top €20 billion, but Boston Consulting Group warns of a €250 billion funding gap continent-wide. For San Cibrao, the restart schedule still depends on installing a dedicated 450-MW renewables portfolio agreed with Ignis EQT and on completing a fixed-price power-purchase agreement that shields the smelter from volatile wholesale prices.
Workforce and Local Economy
Vice-president of operations Rob Bear told employees the potline relight will resume “as soon as we can confirm a safe sequence,” adding that construction and maintenance crews will be ramped up over the summer. The complex—Galicia’s largest industrial employer—supports about 1,300 direct jobs and another 6,000 in the local supply chain, according to regional estimates
Company Background and Market Context
Alcoa curtailed San Cibrao in 2022 amid soaring European electricity prices and struck a viability pact with unions that targeted a January 2024 restart. Only 6 % of pots had been energised when the April blackout struck. The complex includes an alumina refinery running at half of its 1.6 million-tonne capacity to limit losses. Pittsburgh-headquartered Alcoa produced 2.1 million tonnes of primary metal last year, 38 % of it in Europe. Ignis EQT, backed by Sweden’s EQT Partners, develops renewables and storage projects totalling 20 GW under development, with Spain accounting for half.
Aluminium is the most widely used non-ferrous metal, vital for lightweight transport, packaging and grid cabling. London Metal Exchange cash prices are hovering around $2,570 per tonne, up 7 % year-on-year, while European duty-paid premiums have eased to $225 per tonne after peaking at $300 amid energy-supply fears earlier this year.
