EGA is the first industrial company in the UAE and the first aluminium company in the world to achieve this recognition, which is for leadership in transforming industries by applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to significantly improve efficiency, sustainability, and innovation.

EGA launched its digital transformation in 2021 to further increase its cost competitiveness, agility and flexibility, as well as enhance safety and sustainability.

Since then, EGA’s Industry 4.0 programme has delivered some $100 million in financial impact through the implementation of more than 80 Industry 4.0 use cases, ranging from using artificial intelligence vision to quality check carbon anode production in real-time, to predictive tools for market movements in key commodities. More than 3,000 EGA employees have been upskilled in digital capabilities and ways of working.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Designation by the World Economic Forum as an Industry 4.0 global lighthouse is recognition of the speed, quality and depth of EGA’s digital transformation to further boost our global competitiveness. Just over four years ago, we set ourselves a bold aspiration to lead the region and the global aluminium sector in Industry 4.0. Today advanced technologies at EGA are driving industrial process efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability. I am convinced we are still just scratching the surface of what we can achieve with Industry 4.0 at EGA.”

Carlo Nizam, Chief Digital Officer at Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Our recognition as an Industry 4.0 global lighthouse by the World Economic Forum reflects EGA's commitment to digital transformation and innovation. We are proud to be at the forefront of Industry 4.0 in the global aluminium industry, and this achievement motivates us to continue pushing the boundaries of industrial digitalisation.”

Kiva Allgood, Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, World Economic Forum, said: "Across our Global Lighthouse Network, digital technologies are revolutionizing production ecosystems. From AI-driven control towers to zero-code workflows, Lighthouses exemplify sustainable innovation, setting benchmarks millions can follow to drive transformational change across the entire ecosystem."

EGA now joins the World Economic Forum’s Lighthouse Network, a global community of manufacturing sites pioneering Industry 4.0.

In 2024, EGA developed the region’s first 100 per cent renewable energy powered industrial data centres at its Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah sites, and launched of one of the first digital manufacturing platforms in the region with Microsoft to unlock additional value through large-scale Industry 4.0 applications.

Although EGA’s digital transformation is taking place across the company, global lighthouse designation is by industrial site and the World Economic Forum’s recognition is for EGA’s Al Taweelah site in Abu Dhabi

EGA’s Al Taweelah site uses advance deep vision and machine learning models to optimise frontline operations, leading to 50 per cent reduction in operational downtimes, 18 per cent reduction in non-productive time and 12 per cent increase in overall equipment effectiveness.

EGA is thought to be the first company in the UAE to implement the digital tracking system.

The Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Reporting, and Verification system is a centralised digital platform for Scope 1 and 2 emissions data. The platform enables EGA to automate emissions tracking, documentation, and validation by independent third-party auditors. The data is reported using standardised dashboards to relevant stakeholders, including Government organisation and customers.

The UAE is the first country in the region to develop an integrated greenhouse gas emissions and air quality monitoring, reporting and verification system. The National MRV Transparency System supports the implementation of the National Climate Action plan, meets international reporting obligations, tracks progress, and delivers on the mandate of the National Air Quality Agenda 2031.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Our GHG MRV solution will help EGA to meet evolving regulatory requirements while maintaining transparency and auditability of our emissions data throughout the value chain of our production processes. This tool is an important step in achieving our bold aspiration of embedding sustainability in everything we do and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”

In the UAE, the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment has mandated that companies report greenhouse gas emissions data to track our nation’s fulfilment of its commitment to reach net zero by 2050.

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

The visit is part of EGA’s FURSA platform, developed by the EGA Youth Council and the company’s Learning and Development team to provide youth access to curated courses and experiences to enhance skills in leadership, Industry 4.0, sustainability, science and technology.

EGA youth engaged with leading technology companies in Silicon Valley, including Google, Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Microsoft and Standford University, to gain insights on the transformative potential of emerging technologies and best practices for enhancing organisational adaptability and driving innovation.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Empowering the next generation of leaders is crucial for the future growth of our business. Through these programmes, we ensure young people are able to learn from others and are equipped to drive transformative change. Industry 4.0 is already transforming the competitive landscape in our industry and at EGA, and will be central to the success that today’s youth will deliver during their careers.”

Hala Alhashmi, Chair of EGA Youth Council and Product Owner in the Digital Transformation & Industry 4.0 Department at EGA, said: “Exploring global innovations and emerging technologies is essential to enhance our competitiveness, drive growth, and remain relevant in today's digital economy. As young people at EGA, we are proud to be playing an active role in shaping a dynamic and progressive future for our company.”

FURSA is an exclusive platform for EGA employees under the age of 35. It includes 26 academic courses, from prestigious universities such as Harvard, Oxford and London Business School, and wide range of tailored experiences in volunteering, and collaboration.

The EGA Youth Council hosted and participated in over 20 events during 2023 including 11 nation-wide impact initiatives.

Founded in 2018, the EGA Youth Council empowers aspiring young employees to enhance their leadership skills and become pacesetters for change in the nation. The council operates under three main tenets as a foundation of its five-year strategy - empowering youth, engaging them, and fostering their development.

EGA developed the digital manufacturing platform with Microsoft as part of a strategic collaboration to progress EGA’s Digital Roadmap. The platform enables the integration of hardware, software, processes, and people throughout EGA’s global operations.

The platform was built using the latest generation of Microsoft Azure hybrid cloud, to use artificial intelligence at a significant scale across EGA’s global industrial operations including Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah to further improve industrial process efficiency, quality and safety.

The hybrid infrastructure deploys digital architecture previously used in many defence and space projects, while combining the advantages of public and on-premises hybrid cloud processing.

The digital manufacturing platform will enable EGA to reduce the unit cost of running artificial intelligence-based image and video analytics by more than 80 per cent, while increasing speeds as much as 13 times compared to EGA’s previous solution.

EGA’s digital manufacturing platform currently processes over 2.9 petabytes of real-time data annually, equivalent to streaming more than 32,000 movies at 4K resolution, and will be regularly expanded in future. 

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “EGA’s bold aspiration is to become a digital lighthouse for the region and the global aluminium industry, because we see enormous potential to unlock additional value for our business through Industry 4.0. The digital manufacturing platform, developed in collaboration with Microsoft, transforms our operations by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence at scale, while unlocking significant opportunities for further Industry 4.0 applications.”

Carlo K Nizam, Chief Digital Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said, “EGA’s digital transformation strategy has two parallel tracks to fundamentally transform how we operate – implementing high-impact digital solutions for immediate business impact, and building important digital foundations to enable company-wide transformation. The digital manufacturing platform is one of these key foundations.”

Christoph Berlin, General Manager and Partner Architect, Microsoft Azure, said: “Today’s announcement marks a key milestone in our strategic collaboration with EGA, a company which is a leader in the application of Industry 4.0 in the Middle East. Their new digital manufacturing platform, created in collaboration with Microsoft, is a great example of using Microsoft’s Adaptive Cloud Framework to fundamentally rethink and modernise OT in a cloud-first era to embrace modern capabilities such as Generative AI. We look forward to our continued collaboration with EGA.”

Earlier this year, EGA announced the groundbreaking for the region’s first 100 per cent renewable energy powered industrial data centres at its Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah sites. The digital manufacturing platform will be hosted on EGA’s data centres in the future.

EGA launched its digital transformation in 2021, aiming to enhance every aspect of its operations and business, while upgrading customer and employee experience and ultimately creating new revenue streams.

In its wider digital transformation, EGA has so far implemented over 60 Industry 4.0 use cases, ranging from using artificial intelligence vision to quality check carbon anode production in real-time, to developing predictive tools for market movements in key commodities. To date, almost 2,000 EGA employees have been upskilled in digital capabilities and ways of working, and the transformation has delivered some $90 million in financial impact.

Both EGA and Microsoft are members of the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s Industry 4.0 Champions Network, which aims to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption across UAE industry.

Both Microsoft and EGA are members of the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s  Industry 4.0 Champions Network, which aims to accelerate Industry 4.0 adoption across UAE industry. 

Under the new agreement, the two companies will work together to progress EGA’s Digital Roadmap, which is already transforming EGA’s operations through digital capabilities such as artificial intelligence and big data.

EGA and Microsoft will leverage the power of cloud computing to accelerate and scale the development of new digital solutions, shifting a third of EGA’s server infrastructure and applications to Microsoft Azure Cloud.

Through digital transformation and by driving increased efficiencies, Microsoft’s cloud will empower EGA to make substantial energy savings.  EGA is estimating to reduce the energy consumption of its overall computing operations by up to 65 per cent and CO2 emissions by more than 80 per cent.

EGA will also develop a private Microsoft Azure Cloud at its sites, shifting a further third of its computing to this system, unlocking opportunities to deploy data-heavy and time-sensitive artificial intelligence and automation solutions within the company’s industrial operations.

EGA will use virtual desktop cloud computers to create a more efficient, flexible, and secure workplace computing experience for employees.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “We are already transforming EGA’s operations, business and employee experience through Industry 4.0 and our broader digital transformation. Our collaboration with Microsoft will enable us to further accelerate, scale and sustain this work as a digital lighthouse for the region and our industry.”

Carlo K. Nizam, Chief Digital Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Deploying EGA’s and Microsoft’s talent, muscle and technology together will allow us to develop the most advanced digital capabilities and hybrid cloud platform in the aluminium industry. At the same time, we will improve the environmental sustainability of EGA’s computing infrastructure and benefit from seamless security and operations of both our public and private cloud assets."

Naim Yazbeck, General Manager at Microsoft UAE, said: “We are proud to partner with EGA, the largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world, to accelerate their Industry 4.0 transformation while also pioneering further improvements in Microsoft’s own cloud for manufacturing services. I look forward to further collaborations between EGA and Microsoft in the future, both locally and globally.”

EGA will provide input to Microsoft on innovations and improvements to the technology company’s products and services. Microsoft will help upskill EGA staff on relevant Microsoft technologies to accelerate adoption within the aluminium giant’s operations.

EGA has a bold aspiration to innovate the future of aluminium production. For the decades ahead, the company intends to act as technology pathfinder for the aluminium industry, expanding its position as technology supplier of choice, and establishing a thriving manufacturing innovation ecosystem in the UAE.

EGA has developed technology in the UAE for more than 25 years and is focused on improving the efficiency of the aluminium smelting process. EGA’s latest home-grown technology is among the most efficient and competitive in the global aluminium industry.