Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced the company’s programmes to inspire young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics reached more than 6,000 students in 2022.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experts are essential for the achievement of the goals of the UAE’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy and UAE Centennial 2071. EGA itself employs some 1,500 people in these fields, including more than 500 UAE Nationals.
EGA’s ‘Engineer the Future’ programme aims to encourage school students’ continuing studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by explaining their real-life application in industry. The programme reached more than 5,000 students from grades 9 to 12 in 2022, at over 20 schools. ‘Engineer the Future’ is delivered in partnership with Emirates Schools Establishment.
‘Engineer the Future’ also includes a practical competition, ‘The EGA Aluminium Design and Innovation Challenge’. Some 86 student teams have already signed up to participate, and complete a project using aluminium in sustainable mobility, architecture, product design or green solutions. BMW Group is a partner in the sustainability mobility part of the challenge.
EGA’s Ambassador Programme, which supports university students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to consider careers in industry, reached almost 1,000 students in 2022 at educational institutions including The American University of Sharjah, Emirates Aviation University, and Higher Colleges of Technology. EGA’s Ambassador Programme is led by young Emirati EGA engineers and professionals.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said: “EGA is built on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and we have both an interest and a responsibility in more young people studying and ultimately pursuing careers in these fields. I am glad that in 2022 we were able to inspire so many youth in their studies and career aspirations through these programmes.”
EGA also runs an annual industrial robotics competition that challenges students from UAE universities and higher education institutions to design and build industrial robots for use at EGA’s aluminium smelters. The 2022 edition was won by a team from the College of Engineering at United Arab Emirates University.
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Contacts at EGA:
Simon Buerk
sbuerk@ega.ae
About EGA
Since 1975, when it was founded as Dubai Aluminium by His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Global Aluminium has been innovating aluminium to make modern life possible.
Today EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside the oil and gas industry.
EGA is equally-owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and the Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.
EGA is an integrated aluminium producer, with operations from bauxite mining to the production of cast primary aluminium. EGA operates aluminium smelters in Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, an alumina refinery in Al Taweelah and a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.
EGA’s aluminium is the second largest made-in-the UAE export after oil and gas. In 2021, EGA sold 2.54 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 400 customers in over 50 countries. In 2021, value-added products accounted for 84 per cent of EGA’s cast metal sales.
EGA’s aluminium is primarily used in the construction, automotive, packaging, aerospace and electronics industries.
Around 10 per cent of EGA’s aluminium 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 supports 60,950 jobs. EGA itself employs over 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, EGA 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. In 2019, EGA’s Al Taweelah site became the first in the Middle East to receive certification from ASI for its sustainability practices and performance. EGA’s Jebel Ali site was certified in 2021. ASI certification is the aluminium industry’s internationally recognised standard for environmental and social performance and governance.
In 2021, EGA began production of CelestiAL solar aluminium, produced with solar power from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park on the outskirts of Dubai. EGA is the first company in the world to make aluminium commercially using the power of the sun.
EGA was formed in 2014 through the merger of Dubai Aluminium and Emirates Aluminium.
EGA’s Jebel Ali aluminium smelter began production as DUBAL in 1979. At almost five square kilometres, this 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 6,474 megawatts, making EGA the third largest electricity generator in the UAE after the Dubai and Abu Dhabi utilities. EGA also produces water through desalination units at its power plants.
EGA began production at Al Taweelah alumina refinery in April 2019. EGA’s alumina refinery is the first in the UAE and only the second in the Middle East. The project reduces the UAE’s dependence on imported alumina and supplies over 40 per cent of EGA’s needs.
Bauxite exports from Guinea Alumina Corporation, EGA’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Guinea, began in August 2019. The GAC project was one of the largest greenfield investments in Guinea in over 40 years.
For more information on EGA please visit www.ega.ae.
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