Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) and GE Gas Power have signed an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from EGA’s existing GE natural gas turbines.
The decarbonization roadmap will include exploring options for replacing natural gas with hydrogen and hydrogen-blended fuels for combustion in EGA’s GE turbines, as well as integrating carbon capture, utilization and storage technology into EGA’s power plants and implementing the necessary changes required to the auxiliary and balance of plant systems.
The MoU was signed by Abdulnasser bin Kalban, CEP of EGA, and Joseph Anis, President and CEO of GE Gas Power Europe, Middle East, and Africa.
EGA has 33 GE natural gas turbines at Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah, with a total power generation capacity of 5,200 megawatts. Electricity generation accounts for a significant proportion of EGA’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The MoU between EGA and GE is in line with the ambitions of the UAE Government’s Hydrogen Leadership Roadmap, unveiled earlier this month in Glasgow during COP26.
The roadmap will include the development of a strategy to support low-carbon industries to contribute towards the achievement of the UAE’s net-zero goal by the 2050 Strategic Initiative.
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said, “With its efforts to reduce the emission intensity of its operations, EGA is a role model in environmental sustainability for the UAE’s industrial companies.”
EGA and GE intend to set up a joint steering committee to create and drive the decarbonization roadmap forward.