Mubadala and Dubal Holding to sign 25-year deal with Emirates Global Aluminium to develop new power block and water desalination plant

• Mubadala Investment Company and Dubal Holding to set up joint venture company to develop new power generation capacity for EGA in Jebel Ali
• Signing ceremony witnessed by His Excellency Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Company and Chairman of EGA, His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubal Holding and Vice Chairman of EGA, and Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens
• The power facilities will be built using state-of-the-art technologies that will improve overall power efficiency and reduce environmental emissions and natural gas consumption
• EGA intends to buy power from the new company for 25 years
• Project includes installation of first highly-efficient H-class gas turbine in the UAE by Siemens

United Arab Emirates: Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), Mubadala and Dubal Holding are to sign an agreement 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 the efficiency of power for EGA’s aluminium smelting, reducing environmental emissions and natural gas consumption.

Mubadala and Dubal Holding are to establish a joint venture to develop the new facilities. EGA intends to buy the facility’s output for 25 years following commissioning.

EGA is the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, and is jointly owned by Mubadala and Dubal Holding.

The joint venture will install a combined cycle power facility at EGA’s Jebel Ali site capable of generating over 600 megawatts of electricity.

The shareholders of the joint venture have signed an agreement with Siemens to install the UAE’s first combined cycle H-class gas turbine, a leading technology in efficient power generation.

A signing ceremony for the project was witnessed by His Excellency Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Company and Chairman of EGA, His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman, Dubal Holding and Vice Chairman of EGA, and Joe Kaeser, President and Chief Executive Officer of Siemens AG.

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of Dubal Holding and Vice Chairman of EGA, said: “This project is in line with the directives of the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces to enhance sustainable development in the UAE. This is done through ambitious initiatives and sustainable development projects that are highly efficient according to the IPP model. 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. For EGA, structuring this project on the Independent Power Producer model provides certainty on power prices for decades ahead whilst preserving capital for other opportunities.”

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Dubal Holding, said: “In addition to our broader industrial mandate, Dubal Holding is also developing businesses in power generation, making this project at EGA attractive for us as an investment opportunity. This builds on our investment partnership with Mubadala, following the successful establishment of EGA itself. This project is expected to improve the overall power efficiency at Jebel Ali smelter and I look forward to further improvements in the near future”

Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer 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. This proven technology will be a boost to the UAE’s industrial sector, and we look forward to working hand-in-hand with the EGA, Mubadala and Dubal Holding team to bring this project to fruition.”

Once the project is complete, five older, smaller and less efficient turbines at EGA Jebel Ali will be put on standby for use only in emergencies.

The new, more efficient power facility is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EGA’s power generation at Jebel Ali by some 10 per cent. Emissions reductions per tonne of aluminium produced at Jebel Ali, which includes both power generation and aluminium smelting, are expected to be up to seven per cent.  

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. The estimated average greenhouse gas emissions per tonne of aluminium produced globally is 12.7 tonnes CO2 equivalent.

In addition, EGA’s NOx emissions at Jebel Ali are expected to reduce by 58 per cent. NOx, which is also emitted by motor vehicles, is amongst a group of emissions targeted for reductions under ‘UAE Vision 2021’ to improve local air quality.

EGA requires electricity for aluminium smelting and other industrial operations. 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 the company the largest power producer in the UAE after DEWA and ADWEA. EGA’s power fleet is already amongst the most efficient fleet in the Middle East.

-Ends-

About EGA

Emirates Global Aluminium is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai.

It is the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry, and the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.

EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2017, EGA produced 2.6 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 350 customers in over 60 countries. About 80 per cent of EGA’s production is value added products, one of the highest proportions of any aluminium company in the world.

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

Over 10 per cent of EGA’s 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 already employs around 30,000 people, making it the largest employer amongst the UAE’s energy intensive industries.

EGA itself employs around 7,000 of these people including almost 1,200 UAE Nationals.

EGA has focused on technology development for over 25 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, Emirates Global Aluminium 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 foster greater sustainability and transparency in the aluminium industry.

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

DUBAL’s Jebel Ali aluminium smelter began production in 1979. At almost five square kilometres, EGA’s Jebel Ali 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, producing electricity to meet its needs. EGA’s electricity generation capacity is 5,450 megawatts, making EGA the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority.

EGA also produces water through desalination units at its power plants. In addition to meeting its own water requirements, EGA supplies 1.5 per cent of the water needs of Dubai as well as commercial water customers and bottlers.

Today EGA is expanding upstream and internationally to secure the natural resources the UAE’s aluminium industry needs and create new revenue streams.

EGA’s wholly-owned subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation is building a bauxite mine and associated export infrastructure in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa, in one of the largest greenfield investments in that country in over 40 years.

In the UAE, EGA is building the country’s first alumina refinery at Al Taweelah. The project will reduce the UAE’s dependence on imported alumina and supply 75 per cent of the Al Taweelah smelter’s needs.

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

About Dubal Holding

Dubal Holding LLC (“DH”), the investment arm of Investment Corporation of Dubai in the fields of Commodities & Mining; Power & Energy; and Industrial Projects with special focus on developing aluminium downstream capabilities in the United Arab Emirates.

About Mubadala Investment Company

Mubadala Investment Company actively manages a worldwide portfolio supporting the vision of a globally integrated and diversified economy, through sustainable returns to its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi. In March 2018, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) joined the Group.

Mubadala’s US $225 billion (AED 830 billion) portfolio spans five continents with interests in aerospace, ICT, semiconductors, metals and mining, renewable energy, oil and gas, petrochemicals, utilities, healthcare, real estate, defense services, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, agribusiness and a global portfolio of financial holdings. Mubadala is a trusted partner, an engaged shareholder and a responsible global company that is committed to ethics and world-class standards.

For more information about Mubadala, please visit: www.mubadala.com 

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com 

Contacts at EGA:
Simon Buerk
sbuerk@ega.ae
056 3111 536
Fatima Al Mutawa
falmutawa@ega.ae
050 327 7545
Khadija Al Marzooqi
kalmarzooqi@ega.ae
050 8777 850
Sahar Farhat
sfarhat@ega.ae
050 1213 420
Ameera Al Marzooqi
amarzooqi@ega.ae
050 957 9672

© Press Release 2018