Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (“DUBAL”) –the world’s seventh largest producer of premium quality aluminium and Dubai’s industrial flagship – has once more proved its mettle by winning the Private Corporation category and placing as runner-up in the Education & Research category in the recently launched The Emirates Energy Awards, held under the patronage of H H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
The Emirates Energy Awards, which were presented during a gala ceremony held at the Grand Hyatt in Dubai on 5 September 2007, offer a GCC-based forum for recognising the best implemented practices in energy conservation and management, which showcase innovative, cost-effective and replicable energy efficiency measures. DUBAL submitted multiple entries in five of the six award categories, namely Private Corporation, Energy Engineer, Minor Energy Project, Major Energy Project, and Education & Research.
Clearly delighted at the recognition accorded to DUBAL, CEO Abdulla Kalban, said, “Acknowledging that the aluminium smelting process is highly energy intensive, DUBAL has been extremely energy-conscious since the company’s inception in 1979. As part of an ongoing energy conservation drive, we are continuously on the look-out for opportunities to minimise our overall energy consumption levels in terms of energy usage per tonne of aluminium produced as well as to optimise our power generation efficiencies. The wide range of entries we were able to submit for consideration in The Emirates Energy Awards attests to the company-wide commitment to saving energy. For instance, the efficiency of our on-site power station has improved from 26.73% in 1988 to 41.38% in 2006, while our energy usage has declined from 16.74 MWh/tonne aluminium produced in 1990 to 15.14 MWh/tonne in 2006 – a 10% improvement overall.”
DUBAL’s success in the Education & Research category paid tribute to the company’s in-house developed, energy-efficient DX reduction cell technology that has achieved an operating target of 340 kA – simultaneously improving energy consumption to less than 13.4 kWh/kg aluminium produced. The advanced DX technology will be incorporated in the 1.4-million tonne per annum EMAL aluminium smelter complex and related facilities, to be built at the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone in Taweelah, Abu Dhabi.
“The net impact of all our energy-saving initiatives is considerable, especially in terms of the environment where, for example, the volume of nitrous oxides emitted by the plant has dropped from 0.06 tonnes/metric tonne of aluminium produced in 1990 to 0.027 tonnes/metric tonne in 2006,” adds Mr Kalban. “The improved efficiencies overall have also saved DUBAL a lot of money.”
About Dubai Aluminium Company – DUBAL
DUBAL is ranked as the seventh largest producer of primary aluminium in the world, and currently ranks as the largest single-site aluminium smelter complex in the Western world and is also the single largest non-oil contributor to the economy of Dubai. Built on a 480-hectare site, DUBAL’s major facilities comprise an 883,000 tonnes-per-annum primary aluminium smelter, a 1,983 megawatt power station, a large carbon plant, three casthouses, a 30-million-gallon-per-day water desalination plant, laboratories, port and storage facilities.
The company has the capacity to produce more than 900,000 metric tonnes of high quality finished aluminium products a year, in three main forms: foundry alloy for automotive applications, extrusion billet for construction purposes and high purity aluminium for the electronics industry. A dynamic growth strategy will increase annual production volumes of metal to almost one million metric tonnes by 2008.
DUBAL serves 280 customers in 44 countries predominantly in the Far East, Europe, the ASEAN region, the Middle East and Mediterranean region, and North America. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certification; and has twice won the Dubai Quality Award in the Production and Manufacturing sector (1996 and 2000).
