• Demonstrates UAE’s plans to become major hydrogen and green steel production hub
  • Green hydrogen has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions in steel making by up to 95 percent
  • Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries is a key element of UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative

Abu Dhabi, UAE – Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, and EMSTEEL, the UAE’s largest publicly listed steel and building materials company, have announced the successful completion of a pilot project demonstrating the use of green hydrogen to produce green steel.

The Abu Dhabi-based pilot project, the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and North African region, uses green hydrogen to extract iron from iron ore, a key step in steelmaking. The pilot project is now fully operational and has successfully commenced the production of green steel.

The renewable hydrogen produced by the project has been certified by Avance Labs, the hydrogen code manager accredited by the International Tracking Standard Foundation, in accordance with the recently released ISO 19870 methodology for hydrogen. The certification data was validated by Bureau Veritas, acting as the third-party assurance provider.

Steel production is a very important industry in the UAE. However, as it is carbon-intensive and hard to abate, the sector globally contributes between seven and eight percent of worldwide carbon emissions. Decarbonizing this industry is therefore essential to propelling the world towards a net-zero future.

Rising global demand for green steel presents huge growth potential for the UAE, as the country aspires to be a major green steel production hub. The use of sustainable building materials, including steel, is being promoted through the National Green Certificates Program, launched by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in July 2024.

The partnership between Masdar and EMSTEEL has demonstrated the potential for green hydrogen to decarbonize the global steel value chain, whilst demonstrating how clean energy and heavy industry partners in the UAE are collaborating and taking urgent action to accelerate the energy transition.

Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said: “This project demonstrates world-class innovation as a result of our partnership with EMSTEEL to produce green steel utilizing green hydrogen. Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries is vital to the global undertaking to achieve the objectives of the historic UAE Consensus agreed at COP28. Green hydrogen is an essential element in advancing national and global decarbonization efforts and we are proud to be at the forefront of that endeavor.”

Eng. Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, Group Chief Executive Officer of EMSTEEL, commented: “We are committed to propelling decarbonization efforts in the sector, in support of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. Our efforts to date have been fruitful, with our current utilization of clean energy sources rising above 80% in 2023. EMSTEEL is also the first steelmaker in the world to capture part of its CO2 emissions, enabling us to operate with 45% less carbon intensity than the global average. Our partnership with Masdar will play a key role in continuing to build on our efforts to decarbonize this hard-to-abate sector and the downstream supply chain.”

The pilot project aligns with Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy which promotes low-carbon hydrogen as a future clean energy source, constituting a significant milestone towards ensuring economic growth, sustainability, and energy security and a strategic step towards a sustainable future. The Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy complements the UAE National Hydrogen Strategy, which seeks to establish the UAE as a leading global producer of low carbon hydrogen by 2031.

Since its establishment in 2006, Masdar has been a key enabler of the UAE’s vision as a global leader in sustainability and climate action. The company has developed and partnered in projects in over 40 countries, with a mandate to increase its renewable energy portfolio capacity to 100GW within a decade by 2030. It has set a target of 1 million tonnes per annum of green hydrogen or equivalent derivatives in the UAE and globally within a decade.


Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, EMSTEEL builds on a heritage spanning over a quarter of a century. The Group is committed to creating products, services and solutions to build a better world, in addition to driving global sustainability efforts through promoting a low-carbon supply chain in collaboration with it partners across the ecosystem.

About Masdar

Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) is one of the world’s fastest-growing renewable energy companies. As a global clean energy pioneer, Masdar is advancing the development and deployment of solar, wind, geothermal, battery storage and green hydrogen technologies to accelerate the energy transition and help the world meet its net-zero ambitions.  Established in 2006, Masdar has developed and invested in projects in over 40 countries with a combined capacity of over 31.5 gigawatts (GW), providing affordable clean energy access to those who need it most and helping to power a more sustainable future.

Masdar is jointly owned by TAQA, ADNOC, and Mubadala, and is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030 while aiming to be a leading producer of green hydrogen by the same year.

About EMSTEEL

EMSTEEL is a public joint stock company (ADX: EMSTEEL) and the UAE’s largest steel and building materials manufacturer. The Group leverages cutting-edge technologies to supply both the local market and over 70 international markets with high-quality finished products, creating a one-stop shop for the manufacturing and construction sectors.

EMSTEEL is committed to contributing to the UAE's industrial strategy ‘Operation 300 billion’ by delivering market-leading products to support local industries, creating job opportunities for UAE Nationals, and enhancing its sustainable practices. The Group is a global leader in low-carbon steel production and is aligned with the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, EMSTEEL operates 16 state-of-the-art plants, with a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes of steel and 4.6 million tonnes of cement annually, fueling the nation’s most iconic projects.

EMSTEEL is majority owned by ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a broad portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s diversified economy.

For more information, please visit our website: www.emsteel.com

Contacts:
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