EGA’s technological expertise successfully ignites five pilot reduction cells at INALUM’s aluminium smelter

The aluminium industry is witnessing promising development as Emirates Global Aluminium and PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (INALUM) announce the successful start-up of five pilot reduction cells at INALUM's Kuala Tanjung aluminium smelter, which has been upgraded with EGA's technological expertise.

The initial phase of the project aims to upgrade an additional 298 pots in Potlines 1 and 3 of the smelter, with the objective of increasing amperage from 195ka to 215ka and augmenting production capacity by about 10 per cent.

EGA's technologists and engineers have invested over 10,000 hours of work in designing and implementing the Kuala Tanjung upgrade project, which includes significant improvements to the superstructure and potshells. The upgrade also integrates EGA's proprietary Pot Control System, a state-of-the-art software that maximizes metal production while minimizing energy consumption and environmental emissions.

EGA has previously completed a series of similar upgrades across its Jebel Ali site in Dubai and Al Taweelah site in Abu Dhabi, so the expertise of this team is evident. The company has developed its own aluminium smelting technology for over 30 years, and DX+ Ultra, its most recent industrialized technology, is among the most efficient in the global aluminium industry.

The Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, exclaimed: "The successful completion of the start-up of these pilot pots is an important milestone both in our project to deploy EGA's technological know-how in Indonesia and our potentially wider partnership with INALUM. EGA's technology team has a decades-long track record of success, creating value for EGA not just in the UAE but internationally."

The President Director of INALUM, Danny Praditya, remarked: "EGA is a global aluminium company with expertise in aluminium smelting technology and is the chosen partner for INALUM in developing increased aluminium production capacity in Kuala Tanjung. INALUM appreciated this collaboration on the pilot project, which has had excellent results. We are now evaluating these results for the next phase of the wider project. This is aligned with the Memorandum of Understanding that has been agreed to enhance the partnership between Indonesia and UAE."

Furthermore, EGA has signed a separate agreement with INALUM, giving the UAE-based firm the exclusive right to provide its proprietary DX+ Ultra aluminium smelting technology for an expansion of the Kuala Tanjung smelter, should it prove feasible. EGA also has the right to take a minority equity stake in the project and to offtake much of the produced metal. EGA has set a requirement for investment or metal offtake that the project uses renewable power. The existing aluminium Kuala Tanjung smelter uses electricity generated with hydropower.

It is also worth noting that the Kuala Tanjung upgrade project has contributed to the development of human resources; as many as 20 different EGA staff were deployed at various times during the project, more than a third of them being UAE Nationals and a quarter of them are women. EGA's commitment to workforce diversity is commendable.

Overall, the pilot reduction cells are a significant milestone in this project, and EGA's expertise and innovative technology are likely to take the Kuala Tanjung aluminium smelter to new heights of success.