Mubadala and Dubal Holding have signed an agreement with EGA to develop a state-of-the-art power block and a water desalination plant at EGA’s smelter at Jebel Ali in Dubai. The new facilities will improve power efficiency in aluminium smelting; reduce environmental emissions and natural gas consumption.

EGA is jointly owned by Mubadala and Dubal Holding. Mubadala and Dubal Holding would establish a joint venture to develop the new facilities and EGA agreed upon buying the facility’s output for 25 years after commissioning.The JV will install a combined cycle power facility at EGA’s Jebel Ali site capable of generating over 600 megawatts of electricity. Siemens would install the UAE’s first combined cycle H-class gas turbine in this JV project.

Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, CEO and MD of Mubadala Investment Company and Chairman of EGA,  Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman, Dubal Holding and Vice Chairman of EGA, and Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG were present during the signing ceremony.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubal Holding and Vice Chairman of EGA, said: “…Our project includes a combined cycle power facility and a reverse osmosis water desalination plant that support the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021 and the UAE Centennial 2071, which outlines the path for a brighter future for generations to come by making the UAE the best country in the world. We look forward to further achievements with this project.”

Khaled Al Qubaisi, CEO Aerospace, Renewables and ICT, Mubadala, said: “This project creates an attractive opportunity for Mubadala to add to its portfolio of investments in power generation and utilities in the United Arab Emirates and internationally.”

Abdulla Kalban, MD and CEO of EGA, said: “This deal will enable EGA to further improve energy efficiency, saving natural resources and reducing the costs and environmental emissions associated with our aluminium production. Bringing in our shareholders to invest in such power facilities through a new company makes sense for EGA from a capital allocation perspective as we expand our core business upstream and internationally.”

Karim Amin, CEO Sales, Siemens Power Generation, said: “This project is a breakthrough on many levels; the first Siemens H-class globally to power an aluminium smelter, the most efficient power plant in the UAE and the most efficient in EGA’s fleet.”

With the completion of these facilities, five older, smaller and less efficient turbines at EGA smelter will be put on standby for use only in emergencies. Emissions reductions per tonne of aluminium, which includes both power generation and aluminium smelting, are expected to be up to seven per cent after this installation.  

EGA’s total CO2 equivalent emissions, from all its operations in the UAE, were 8.1 tonnes per tonne of aluminium produced in 2017 and are currently below eight tonnes per tonne of aluminium produced. EGA runs captive power plants at its sites in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah with a current combined generating capacity of 5,450 megawatts, making it one of the largest power producers in the UAE.