Homaid Al Shimmari, Chairman of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), has started up the final reduction cell in the company’s next-generation smelting technology pilot project at its Al Taweelah site.
The milestone marks a key step in the development of Emirates Global Aluminium’s advanced industrial technology, aimed at enhancing efficiency and sustainability in aluminium production.
The pilot represents a crucial step toward preparing EGA’s EX smelting technology for large-scale industrial deployment. It lays a strong foundation for the company’s future growth and reinforces EGA’s position as a leading technology provider in the global aluminium industry.
EX is Emirates Global Aluminium’s 10th generation smelting technology and produces more aluminium with less energy and lower emissions.
Homaid Al Shimmari Chairman – EGA
“EX technology enhances EGA’s ability to remain at the forefront of the global aluminium industry. Our aim is 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.”
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, stated, “The pilot of our new EX technology is a strategic project for Emirates Global Aluminium, and is the latest chapter in our long history of industry leadership through technology innovation.”
“The performance of EX reduction cells during startup 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 EGA CEO added.
Emirates Global Aluminium has been developing its own aluminium smelting technology in the UAE for over 30 years. Since the 1990s, all of the company’s smelter expansions have incorporated EGA’s in-house technology, and all older potlines have been successfully retrofitted.
Through its ongoing innovation and earlier efforts dating back to 1980, Emirates Global Aluminium has achieved a 37.5 percent reduction in the electricity required to produce each tonne of aluminium.
Emirates Global Aluminium became the first industrial company in the UAE to license its core process technology internationally in 2016, through an agreement with Aluminium Bahrain. The deal enabled the use of EGA’s DX+ Ultra technology in Aluminium Bahrain’s Potline 6 expansion project.
The EX pilot in Al Taweelah will also be used to prove the most advanced Industry 4.0 capabilities in the global aluminium industry.
EGA launched its digital transformation in 2021 to boost cost competitiveness, agility, and flexibility, and to improve safety and sustainability. Since then, Emirates Global Aluminium has implemented more than 80 Industry 4.0 use cases, generating around $100 million in financial impact.
In January 2025, Emirates Global Aluminium became the first industrial company in the UAE and the first aluminium company in the world to be designated an Industry 4.0 global lighthouse by the World Economic Forum. Construction of the 10 pilot pots began in late 2024, and the first reduction cell was energised in mid-June 2024.
