Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) announced on Monday that they are partnering to make the UAE the first country in the world to produce aluminium using solar power.

The Dubai utility said it would supply EGA’s smelter with 560,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of solar power annually from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to produce 40,000 tonnes of aluminium in the first year.

EGA will supply solar aluminium to global customers under the new product name CelestiAL.

DEWA Managing Director and CEO and Vice Chairman of EGA Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said the milestone is aligned with the vision of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Mohammed bin Rashid to make the emirate the most sustainable city in the world.

The statement said the solar park has a current installed capacity of 1,013 MW using photovoltaic solar panels. DEWA is implementing an additional 1,850 MW of projects using solar panels and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). Eventually, this capacity will reach 5,000 MW by 2030.

EGA’s sourcing of solar power from Dubai’s electricity grid will be tracked and traced through the use of the International Renewable Energy Certification System, ensuring that the energy used to produce EGA’s solar aluminium has been powered by the sun, the statement concluded.

(Writing by Saket S; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@refinitiv.com)

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