Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: The Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today published its Green Finance Framework to support decarbonisation projects and initiatives that contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy. The company also revealed that its recent acquisition of European speciality foundry Leichtmetall was fully funded with EGA’s first green loan facility.

A green finance framework defines eligibility and governance mechanisms for financing from third-party institutions and funds that prioritise sustainability in their capital allocation, among other sources.

Publishing the framework advances EGA’s sustainability goals by enabling access to a more diverse range of funding options for loans and bonds, potentially lowering the cost of borrowing while ensuring increased transparency.

Citi and ING acted as the lead sustainability structuring banks and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) acted as the sustainability structuring bank to support EGA in the framework’s development. 

EGA has publicly committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in line with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative.

Aluminium demand is expected to grow worldwide by between 50 per cent and 80 per cent by 2050. Recycled and low-carbon primary aluminium are expected to account for around 60 per cent of supply growth between now and 2030, and around 70 per cent of supply growth between 2030 and 2040.

EGA completed the acquisition of Leichtmetall in May. Leichtmetall uses renewable energy to produce up to 30,000 tonnes per year of aluminium billets at its plant in Germany, with secondary aluminium comprising some 80 per cent of the input material.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “The aluminium EGA produces plays an essential role in the development of a more sustainable society. It is also important how sustainably it is produced. This is both an enormous opportunity and a significant challenge for EGA and our wider industry. Our Green Finance Framework enables us to access a deeper pool of liquidity to finance projects and initiatives that advance our decarbonisation goals. Our use of green financing for our recent acquisition of Leichtmetall is another first for EGA in our sustainability journey.”

Separately, in 2023, EGA rolled out the first ESG-linked supply chain finance programme in the UAE’s manufacturing sector to advance sustainability in its supply chain. The programme has provided some $73 million in financing to EGA’s suppliers since October last year.

In 2022, EGA was among the first in the region to open sustainable corporate bank accounts, which ensure cash balances are used to finance or refinance sustainability initiatives elsewhere in the economy. Over the past 20 months, EGA has deposited some $76 million in total in these accounts, maintaining an average cash balance of $25 million.

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Contacts at EGA
Theodora Gabrah
tgabrah@ega.ae

About EGA

Since 1975, when it was founded as Dubai Aluminium by His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Global Aluminium has been innovating aluminium to make modern life possible.

Today EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry.

EGA is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.

EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations from bauxite mining to the production of cast primary aluminium and recycling. EGA operates aluminium smelters in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah, a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea, and speciality foundry in high strength recycled aluminium in Germany.

EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2023, EGA sold 2.75 million tonnes of cast metal. EGA is the only UAE producer and makes the UAE the fifth largest aluminium producing nation in the world.

EGA has more than 400 customers in over 50 countries. In 2023, value-added products accounted for 76 per cent of EGA’s cast metal sales.

EGA’s aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging, aerospace and electronics industries.

Around 10 per cent of EGA’s aluminium production is sold in the UAE to around 26 downstream aluminium companies that make products with EGA’s aluminium. The growing broader aluminium sector in the UAE supports almost 48,000 jobs. EGA itself employs around 6,800 of these people including more than 1,200 UAE Nationals.

EGA has focused on technology development for over 30 years. EGA has used its own technology for every smelter expansion since the 1990s and has retrofitted all its older production lines. In 2016 EGA became the first UAE industrial company to licence its core industrial process technology internationally.

As a corporate citizen of the UAE, EGA aspires in all its operations to be measured amongst the world’s leading metals and mining companies in meeting its environmental and social responsibilities. In 2017, EGA became the first Middle East headquartered company to join the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative, a global programme to Press Release Press Release

foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry. In 2019, EGA’s Al Taweelah site became the first in the Middle East to receive certification from ASI for its sustainability practices and performance. EGA’s Jebel Ali site was certified in 2021. EGA’s bauxite mining subsidiary, Guinea Alumina Corporation, achieved the first ASI certification in Guinea in 2023. Al Taweelah alumina refinery was certified later in 2023. EGA’s German speciality foundry was certified in 2023, before its acquisition by EGA. EGA now has all of its global operations certified to the aluminium industry’s internationally recognised standard for environmental and social performance and governance.

In 2021, EGA began production of CelestiAL solar aluminium, produced with solar power from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park on the outskirts of Dubai. EGA is the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using the power of the sun.

EGA was formed in 2014 through the merger of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium.

EGA’s Jebel Ali aluminium smelter began production as DUBAL in 1979. At almost five square kilometres, this site is five times bigger than Dubai Mall.

EMAL started production in 2009 and its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter was the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the world when completed. EGA’s Al Taweelah site is five times bigger than Al Maryah Island at six square kilometres.

EGA has its own power stations at both sites in the UAE, producing electricity to meet its needs. EGA’s electricity generation capacity is 6,474 megawatts, making EGA the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after the Dubai and Abu Dhabi utilities. EGA also produces water through desalination units at its power plants.

EGA began production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery in April 2019. EGA’s alumina refinery is the first in the UAE and only the second in the Middle East. The project reduces the UAE’s dependence on imported alumina and supplies over 48 per cent of EGA’s needs.

Bauxite exports from Guinea Alumina Corporation, EGA’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Guinea, began in August 2019. The GAC project was one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in over 40 years.

For more information on EGA please visit www.ega.ae