Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s largest industrial group outside of the country’s oil and gas industry, intends to decarbonize its operations by constructing a 150,000-tonne-per-year aluminum recycling factory.

According to the corporation, the factory would be its first and largest aluminum recycling facility in the UAE. The estimated cost of the plant was not disclosed by EGA.

According to the firm, EGA, which is owned equally by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai, will market the recycled aluminum under the brand name EternAL. It sold solar-powered aluminum last year under the brand name CelestiAL.

“End-users of aluminum — from automakers to beverage companies — are progressively committing to net zero in response to societal expectations,” said EGA CEO Abdulnasser bin Kalban.

“Our first recycling facility to generate EternAL is one of the measures we want to take to deliver low-carbon metal to our clients worldwide.”

The UAE aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with Dh600 billion ($163.5 billion) in new investments in clean and renewable energy sources planned over the following three decades.

EGA, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of aluminum, operates smelters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. To decarbonize processes and minimize emissions, the corporation is building its own technology. Its aluminum is exported to over 50 nations.

EGA creates around Dh20 billion in economic activity each year and supports over 60,000 jobs in the UAE.

The aluminium industry accounts for 1.4% of the UAE GDP.

Aluminum-using companies throughout the world reported an improvement in operating conditions in December, as new orders and output improved modestly.

According to IHS Markit data, the seasonally adjusted Global Aluminium Users Purchasing Managers Index, a composite measure of operational conditions at factories who use a lot of aluminum, rose to 51.3 in December from 51.4 in November.

Aluminium prices are expected to rise 6% in 2022 due to high demand and supply worries, following a predicted 50% spike last year, but will fall further as energy limitations ease, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook study.

The recycling factory will convert post-consumer aluminum scrap, such as discarded window frames, and pre-consumer aluminum waste from extrusion manufacturing into low-carbon, high-quality aluminum billets, according to EGA, which produces around 2.7 million tonnes of aluminum each year.

Aluminium scrap for the recycling center will be acquired mostly from inside the UAE and around the region. According to the firm, more over half of the aluminum scrap created in the GCC is now disposed of or exported.

The project’s feasibility studies are now underway. Expansion of production might begin as early as 2024.

Recycling aluminum needs a fraction of the energy required to generate new primary aluminum, with much reduced greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of production, according to EGA.

According to the International Aluminium Institute, recycled aluminum will account for up to 60% of world aluminum supply by 2050. (IAI).

“This plant will further improve EGA’s position as a global leader in billet manufacturing, boosting our capacity from around 1.15 million tonnes per year to about 1.3 million tonnes in response to rising customer demand,” Mr bin Kalban added.

The recycling factory will also allow EGA to contribute to Operation 300 billion and the In-Country Value initiative by substituting certain imported raw materials with recyclable resources currently available in the UAE, according to the CEO.

In November of last year, the business joined the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s National ICV initiative.
The primary goal of ICV certification is to increase private sector engagement in the economy, permit GDP diversification, and localize crucial supply chain components.

Meanwhile, Operation300bn intends to double the contribution of industry to national GDP to Dh300 billion by 2031.

The recycling factory will also allow EGA to contribute to Operation 300 billion and the In-Country Value initiative by substituting certain imported raw materials with recyclable resources currently available in the UAE, according to the CEO.

In November of last year, the business joined the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s National ICV initiative.
The primary goal of ICV certification is to increase private sector engagement in the economy, permit GDP diversification, and localize crucial supply chain components.

Meanwhile, Operation300bn intends to double the contribution of industry to national GDP to Dh300 billion by 2031.