The UAE’s largest industrial company outside of oil and gas, Emirates Global Aluminium has been rewarded with an honourary “Green Industries” label by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) for environmental performance at the company’s Al Taweelah site.
Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), granted the title in a ceremony at the agency’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the presence of Ms. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, the UAE Minister of Climate Change and the Environment.
“Green Industries”
A new initiative from the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, the Green Industries labeling program recognizes organizations with outstanding environmental performance, encouraging environmental best practice across industries in the Emirate.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban CEO – EGA
“Aluminium plays an essential role in the development of a more sustainable society and, at EGA, we fully recognize that it also matters how sustainably aluminum is made. We are committed to embedding sustainability in everything we do and aim to be a sustainability leader not just in the UAE but for our global industry. We thank Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi for this recognition for our performance so far on this ongoing journey.”
EGA was the first company in the Middle East to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, which brings together aluminum producers and end users with civil society and the public through consultation to determine what constitutes good sustainability performance in the aluminum industry.
The firm was also the first regional organization to acquire a certification to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative’s Performance Standard, for the company’s Al Taweelah site in 2019. EGA’s Jebel Ali site was later certified in 2021.
In 2021, EGA became the first company in the world to use solar power for the commercial production of aluminum. Electricity generation accounts for around 60 percent of the global aluminum industry’s emissions. EGA’s solar aluminium is marketed under the product name CelestiAL.
The firm is planning to build the largest aluminum recycling facility in the UAE, with 150,000 tonnes of billet capacity. Feasibility studies for the project are underway. Production ramp-up could begin as early as 2024. Aluminum scrap for the recycling facility will mainly be sourced from the UAE and the wider region. More than half the aluminum scrap generated in the GCC is currently either disposed of or exported.
EGA is also planning to build a pilot plant in Al Taweelah to convert bauxite residue, which is a by-product of aluminum production, into manufactured soil products. After six years of intensive R&D, the pilot plant is thought to be the first of its kind in the world.
EGA has developed re-uses for other waste streams from its industrial activities. These include spent pot lining, a by-product of aluminium smelting, which is re-used as an alternative feedstock and fuel by the UAE cement industry; carbon dust, which is also used as a fuel in cement manufacturing; and dross which is processed to recover aluminium. EGA’s long-term aspiration is to send zero process waste to landfill.
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