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Senior officials from Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), the largest industrial company in the UAE outside of oil and gas, and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) discussed plans for a clean energy future at a meeting today.
The discussion took place during a visit to EGA’s Al Taweelah site in Abu Dhabi. Al Hammadi and his delegation were welcomed by EGA CEO Abdulnasser Bin Kalban and a group of executives.
Discussions focused on how the two companies will contribute to the UAE’s clean energy future.
EGA has developed a strategic plan with Taqa, Dubal Holding and EWEC to divest its natural gas power plants and instead meet its electricity needs from EWEC’s grid, including increasing the proportion of clean energy. This would make EGA the largest single customer on the grid.
ENEC’s Barakah power plant is already the largest source of clean, zero-carbon electricity in the UAE and the wider Arab world, with two of its four 1,400 MW units already in commercial operation, a third about to start commercial operation and a fourth in preparation It will be ready for operation later this year.
Nuclear power is an important source of baseload electricity, meaning it can generate electricity 24/7, which is crucial to supporting the UAE’s growing intermittent renewable energy sources, which generate electricity during the day. Nuclear power generation is particularly important for decarbonizing heavy industry, which requires large amounts of continuous electricity to power industrial processes such as aluminum smelting.
ENEC supplies electricity to EWEC through a long-term agreement, and EWEC sells it for dispatch.
Al Hammadi said: “The Barakah nuclear power plant provides EWEC with a substantial amount of clean electricity and will continue to provide the majority of emission-free energy for decades to come. As the only source of carbon-free electricity in the UAE producing baseload, 24/7 electricity, Nuclear energy plays a central role in ensuring the decarbonization of the UAE’s electricity sector. Major industrial players like EGA seeking to decarbonise their operations are already benefiting greatly from the reliable and clean electricity produced at the Barakah plant.”
Bin Kalban said: “The UAE’s ambitious energy transition presents the largest single opportunity to decarbonise the EGA. Alongside solar, nuclear power will be a significant part of EGA’s energy mix in the coming decades, enabling us to deliver the low-carbon energy the world needs Aluminum, making modern life possible.”
Through an agreement with DEWA, ​​EGA will become the first company in the world to produce aluminum using solar energy in 2021. EGA produced nearly 39,000 tonnes of CelestiAL last year. EGA’s metal customers include the BMW Group, Hammerer Aluminum Industries (a Tier 1 supplier to Mercedes-Benz) and Kobe Steel (one of Japan’s largest rolling mills, which produces auto body panels for Nissan). – TradeArabia News Service
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