Aluminium decarbonisation alliance takes shape in UAE

Emirates Global Aluminium

• EGA teaming up with Masdar
• Seeking renewable aluminium production
• Developing other renewable projects

Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial company, has formed an alliance with state renewable energy company Masdar to work on decarbonisation projects.

The two companies will explore the joint development of renewable energy projects such as battery storage and the production and storage of green hydrogen.

They will also work together internationally to find opportunities through which Masdar will support EGA to power new aluminium production facilities with renewable energy sources, a statement said.

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Mohamed Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, said: “Strong partnerships such as this are exactly what the world needs to accelerate our path to net zero… We look forward to developing further compelling propositions for international markets to maximise the economic benefits of using renewable energy.”

Aluminium production is energy-intensive, and generating the electricity required using fossil fuels accounts for about 60 percent of the global aluminium industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

EGA produces one in every 25 tonnes of aluminium made worldwide. The company’s metal is the biggest made-in-the-UAE export after oil and gas, and is shipped to more than 50 countries.

• Masdar City has up to $1bn of projects at design phase
• Emirates Global Aluminium buys German recycling business
• Middle East renewable capacity doubles but the region is lagging

In 2021, EGA became the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using solar power. It produced almost 39,000 tonnes that year, and the figure increased to 66,000 tonnes in 2023.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of EGA, said demand for aluminium has the potential to grow by as much as 80 percent by 2050, but added that “fulfilling this potential depends on how sustainably aluminium is made”.