The Youth Circle was held with the participation of His Excellency Osama Amir Fadhel, Assistant Undersecretary of the Industry Accelerators Sector at MoIAT.

The session took place at the heart of EGA’s industrial operations in Jebel Ali and brought together young people from the Federal Youth Authority, Abu Dhabi Youth councils and leading industrial companies including Mubadala Investment Company, TAQA, DP World, Emirates Steel Arkan, AD Ports Group, ENOC, Tawazun Industrial Park, Yahsat, and EDGE Group.

The group discussed the crucial role of local talent in achieving the objectives of the UAE’s industrial growth strategy, Operation 300bn, in addition to exploring collaboration and partnership opportunities.

His Excellency Osama Amir Fadhel, Assistant Undersecretary of the Industry Accelerators Sector at MoIAT said: “The industry and advanced technology sectors attract skilled local talent who contribute to the UAE’s vision for economic growth and innovation. The Ministry is committed to empowering the leaders of tomorrow, providing them with opportunities to grow and thrive in line with the objectives of Operation 300bn to advance the sector, enhance its competitiveness, and promote its expansion through the adoption of advanced technologies.”

Khalid Essa Buhumaid, Senior Vice President Government Relations at Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “EGA’s Youth Council brings together young people both from within our company and beyond to drive change and create the future. The young people at today’s Youth Circle are the industrial leaders of tomorrow. They will inherit great achievements, and build on them much further.”

Hala Alhashmi, Chair of EGA Youth Council and Product Owner in the Digital Transformation & Industry 4.0 Department, said: “Today’s Youth Circle between UAE industrial companies has highlighted the crucial role and responsibility of young people in shaping the future of UAE industry. Working closely with our peers across industry will enable us to accelerate our progress and achieve even greater success in industrial growth for our nation.”

In 2022, EGA Youth Council hosted the first ‘Youth in Manufacturing & Technology Forum’, a platform that brought together 17 youth councils from across the industry and advanced technology sectors to discuss the objectives of Operation 300bn in line with the leadership’s vision for the industrial sector and the pillars of UAE Centennial 2071 plan.

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

Founded in 2018, EGA Youth Council is dedicated to supporting aspiring young employees to enhance critical leadership skills for future success, while giving youth a strong voice in the company.  

The agreement was signed by His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, and Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, at the World Governments Summit 2024 in Dubai.

HE Omar Sultan Al Olama affirmed that digitising various vital sectors by adopting artificial intelligence applications is a fundamental cornerstone in enhancing the UAE's competitive position globally, and accelerate the pace of digital transformation in all industrial sectors.

His Excellency praised the proactive efforts of Emirates Global Aluminium Company in enhancing the applications of Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions in its operations, including artificial intelligence solutions.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “At EGA, we fully recognise the power of artificial intelligence to transform everything we do, from automating industrial processes to improving employees’ experience at work. Many of the opportunities ahead of us are shared with others. Through the Artificial Intelligence Office of the Government, we look forward to delivering our own transformation faster and more effectively while inspiring other companies with what is possible.”

Under the agreement, the Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications office and EGA will work together to develop research partnerships for artificial intelligence, including for use in developing new aluminium alloys. As well, they will also cooperate to upskill EGA staff on artificial intelligence, jointly promote career opportunities to UAE National students, and work with universities to ensure their curricula meet the needs of industry.

EGA began its own Industry 4.0 transformation in 2021 to further improve operational efficiency, with the goal of becoming a digital lighthouse for the region and the global aluminium industry.

The agreement supports the company's efforts to implement Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions using artificial intelligence in various fields, including improving supply chain, enhancing automated quality testing, and strengthening safety procedures in its factories.

Fourth Industrial Revolution solutions implemented by EGA include matching sensor-collected data with image and video analytics, thereby increasing reliance on technological applications and enabling more opportunities for data-driven scientific applications to enhance data processing capabilities in the industrial sector. EGA has been developing its proprietary technologies used in aluminium smelting operations locally for over 30 years.

The WGS 2024 edition will feature six main themes and 15 forums. It will host over 23 ministerial meetings and roundtables, 85 international, regional and intergovernmental organisations, and more than 120 interactive sessions and workshops. Moreover, 300 prominent figures, including heads of state, ministers, experts, thinkers, and decision-makers, will take part in the event.

The Alumina Industrial Company, established by the Maithan Group and Bathwal Corporation, intends to develop the UAE’s first complex to make speciality products from alumina in Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi. These products have widespread applications in refractories and abrasives for industrial applications.

The project requires a local source of alumina, and EGA is the only UAE producer. The supply agreement is the first time EGA has sold alumina from its refinery to a third-party, extending EGA’s support to industrial expansion in the country. Alumina is the main feedstock for aluminium smelters. All the production from EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery is currently used in EGA’s smelters.

EGA’s supply of alumina to the project is a further expansion of EGA’s local commercial sales that enable downstream industrial activity. EGA sells some 10 per cent of its metal in the UAE, to 26 companies that make everything from car parts to window frames for local use and global export.

Operation 300bn aims to develop the UAE’s industrial sector and enhance its role in stimulating the national economy. It aims to more than double the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP to AED 300 billion by 2031.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “Driving sustainable economic growth is one way we fulfil EGA’s purpose - Together, innovating aluminium to make modern life possible. This commercial agreement to supply alumina to a new industry under development in the UAE further expands our contribution to industrialisation and prosperity in our nation, in line with the goals of Operation 300bn.”

Nikunj Bathwal, Director of The Alumina Industrial Company, said: “Enabled by EGA’s alumina supply and leveraging the world class infrastructure of UAE, we are creating a unique alumina derivatives platform that will support existing industries in the UAE, and potentially lead to the development of further new industrial operations in the country.”

The Alumina Industrial Company plans to develop a plant in KEZAD with a production capacity of 80 thousand tonnes per year of specialised alumina products, with the potential to expand to 150,000 tonnes annually.

The project is expected to create 200 jobs in construction and 150 permanent roles once in operation. First production is expected in 2025.

The plant’s production is expected to replace some imports required in supply chains of UAE industries ranging from steel, aluminium, petrochemicals, glass to cement. Refractories are ceramic materials that are resistant to very high temperatures, and are used to line hot surfaces in many industrial processes.

EGA itself requires refractories in some of its industrial processes. The Alumina Industrial Company’s project could potentially supply a significant proportion of this need, further increasing EGA’s local procurement.

EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery began production in 2019, after an investment in its development of some $3.3 billion. The refinery converts bauxite ore into alumina, the feedstock for aluminium smelters.

In 2022, Al Taweelah alumina refinery produced 2.43 million tonnes of alumina, significantly exceeding its original design capacity and meeting 47 per cent of EGA’s total alumina needs.

EGA's already supplies some alumina hydrate, a precursor product of alumina, to domestic and international producers of aluminium fluoride, which is used in aluminium smelting, welding applications and ceramic glazes and enamels.

Refractories are insulating materials required for industrial processes that operate at above 800°C. Abrasives are form of high-purity alumina essential for metal production, industrial polishing and abrasive compounds.

The memorandums of understanding were signed in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, by Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, and senior leaders of the potential investor companies.

EGA and Sunstone signed an agreement that could lead to the development of a new carbon anode manufacturing facility in the UAE. Carbon anodes are consumed in the aluminium smelting process. Sunstone is the largest producer of carbon anodes in China.

EGA produces some 1.2 million tonnes of carbon anodes every year at its own carbon plants in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, and the remainder of the company’s need is currently imported. Production from the new carbon anode manufacturing facility in the UAE would entirely replace these imports, and additional capacity could supply other aluminium smelters in the Middle East.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of EGA, said: ”EGA is at the heart of one of the UAE’s most important industrial sectors, and we are committed to growing our economic contribution further in line with Operation 300bn, including by using our demand to localise our supply chain. These agreements are progress towards that goal, and I look forward to the development of these new industrial facilities in the UAE, creating jobs and contributing to prosperity.”

Lang Guanghui, Chairman of Sunstone, said: “The UAE is a strategic location for industrial investment, with industrial champion companies like EGA and access to the wider Middle East region. We look forward to progressing this project, growing our international operations and contributing to the UAE’s economy.”

EGA also signed a memorandum of understanding with VCI, an Indian disinfectant and carbo-chemicals producer, that could lead to the development of a pitch melting and processing facility in the UAE. This facility would be the first of its type in the region.

Liquid pitch is a raw material in the production of carbon anodes for aluminium smelting, and is also increasingly used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles.  

EGA’s metal has been formed in Jebel Ali into parts for MBRSC’s MBZ-SAT, the region’s most advanced commercial satellite in the field of high-resolution satellite imagery, which is due to be launched in 2024.

The partnership is a space sector milestone for Make it in the Emirates, supporting the UAE’s Operation 300bn ambition to more than double the size of the industrial sector by 2031, and for the UAE’s goal of being a leader in space exploration.

The first fully UAE-made parts have already been delivered to the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre at Al Khawaneej in Dubai.

His Excellency Salem Humaid AlMarri, Director General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, said: “At MBRSC, our mission is not only to explore the vast potential of space but also to drive the diversification of the UAE's economy. We recognise the immense value of joining forces with diverse partners to leverage their unique expertise and capabilities. By forging strategic partnerships with innovative entities such as Emirates Global Aluminium and Gulf Extrusions, we are able to expand the horizons of the UAE's space sector. Together, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of innovation and fuelling the growth of this vital industry.”

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “At EGA, we have been making it in the Emirates since 1979. We are proud to now provide CelestiAL solar aluminium, together with Gulf Extrusions, to another UAE champion which will use it to reach beyond the sky on behalf of our nation. Aluminium is an essential material for modern life, including space travel, and the UAE’s production through EGA is a global contribution to human progress.”

Omar Shegem, Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Extrusions, said: “Our parts, made in the UAE with EGA’s aluminium, are already found in everything from cars to skyscrapers around the world. We are now honoured that our work will leave the Earth’s atmosphere for the first time as part of MBZ-SAT. Together we are making it in the Emirates for the world and beyond.”

MBRSC has been dedicated to the advancement of space science, technology, and exploration, playing a pivotal role in the UAE’s space ambitions. The Centre’s main activities encompass the UAE Satellite Programme, the UAE Astronaut Programme, the Emirates Mars Mission, and the Mars 2117 Programme which includes the Emirates Lunar Mission and Space Ventures, among others. Recognising the importance of collaboration, MBRSC actively engages in partnerships with private entities, fostering innovation and driving the growth of the space sector.

Since the first satellite launch in 1957, aluminium has been the leading material in space exploration due to its lightweight, strength and resistance to corrosion.

EGA’s aluminium is the largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas and is shipped to more than 50 countries worldwide. In 2021, EGA became the first company in the world to produce aluminium commercially using solar power through a partnership with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which operates the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the desert outside Dubai. Electricity generation accounts for around 60 per cent of the global aluminium industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. The use of solar power significantly reduces these emissions.

Last year, EGA hosted UAE astronaut Hazzaa AlMansoori for a virtual discussion with employees about the uses of aluminium in space.

EGA is one of the UAE’s most innovative companies and has developed its own aluminium smelting technology in the UAE for more than 30 years. EGA’s latest technology, DX+ Ultra, is amongst the most efficient in the global aluminium industry. The company has used its own technology in all its smelter expansions since the 1990s has retrofitted all its older production lines and was the first UAE industrial company to license its core process technology internationally.

Gulf Extrusions, a subsidiary of Al Ghurair Group, is one of 26 UAE customers of EGA which make everything from car parts to window frames for the local market and global export. EGA supplies some 10 per cent of its metal to local companies, and the aluminium sector as a whole accounts for 1.5 per cent of the entire UAE economy.