On July 11, 2025, the Chairman of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Homaid Al Shimmari, began the final reduction cell process in the company's next-generation smelting technology pilot project in Al Taweelah.
Image source: EGA
Within the process of incorporating EX smelting technology, the pilot is the key step required for large-scale industrialisation, upholding the project as an integral foundation of EGA's strategic growth. Not only this, but this project will aid the company to amplify its position as the technology provider in the aluminium industry worldwide.
EGA has been developing its aluminium smelting technology in the UAE for nearly three decades now, since the 1990s, reassembling the older potlines. By using its technologies, the firm has successfully been able to reduce the use of electricity per tonne of aluminium by 37.5 per cent.
EX is EGA's 10th-generation smelting technology, designed to produce more aluminium while using less energy and generating lower emissions. Additionally, this pilot technology in the Al Taweelah shall prove the use of the most advanced Industry 4.0 capabilities within the global aluminium industry.
Homaid Al Shimmari, Chairman of Emirates Global Aluminium, stated, "EX technology enhances EGA's ability to remain at the forefront of the global aluminium industry. We aim to apply this technology in our planned facility in Oklahoma, the first new primary aluminium production plant to be built in the United States since 1980. As part of this effort, we will test the technology using alumina refined from bauxite sourced from multiple locations, to further prove its potential for global deployment."
On the other hand, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said, "The pilot of our new EX technology is a strategic project for EGA, and is the latest chapter in our long history of industry leadership through technology innovation. The performance of EX reduction cells during start-up and in the first weeks of production has been even better than expected, and I am excited about what this technology will achieve. I thank each colleague who worked so hard to develop this new technology and build the pilot in Al Taweelah."
The firm's first digital transformation launch dates back to 2021, which aided in boosting cost competitiveness, flexibility and agility. Other benefits received by the company include improved safety and higher sustainability approaches. Post 2021, the company has successfully implemented more than 80 Industry 4.0 use cases, supporting the generation of a total of USD 100 million.
In January 2025, EGA was recognised by the World Economic Forum as the first industrial company in the UAE and the first aluminium company globally to be named an Industry 4.0 Global Lighthouse. As of now, construction of the 10 pilot pots started in late 2024, with the first reduction cell energised in mid-June.
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