- The parties discussed the establishment of a new expandable green hydrogen facility to enhance clean steel production levels, reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions
Abu Dhabi, UAE – August 3, 2021: Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (“TAQA”), one of the largest listed integrated utilities in the region, announced today a partnership with Emirates Steel, the leading integrated steel plant in the Middle East, to develop a large-scale green hydrogen project enabling the first green steel produced in the MENA region.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Jasim Husain Thabet, TAQA Group CEO and Managing Director, and Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of Emirates Steel. Under the agreement, TAQA and Emirates Steel will consider utilizing green hydrogen to optimize clean steel production level. The hydrogen will enable green and low carbon steel manufacturing, saving energy while creating a sustainable and clean manufacturing process.
The MoU also lays the groundwork for the project design to be expanded to meet the anticipated growth in international demand for low carbon steel. This is one of the innovative solutions aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of construction, transportation and industrial sectors, among others.
Jasim Husain Thabet, TAQA’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, commented: “TAQA is setting out to become a recognized champion of low carbon power and water, and this partnership with Emirates Steel leverages our combined expertise to lower the overall cost of production as well as reducing carbon emissions.
Finding commercially viable industrial-scale solutions like this is key to unlocking the potential of green hydrogen as an emerging clean energy source. TAQA is uniquely well-placed in this region to combine our world-leading solar PV, water and energy know-how to unlock opportunities that work for our stakeholders.”
Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of Emirates Steel, commented: “We are proud of our partnership with TAQA group to complete this vital project, through which we write a new chapter in our journey towards placing sustainability and industrial innovation at the core of our technical and operational activities. The production of green steel through a sustainable and clean manufacturing process based on green hydrogen supports Emirates Steel’s efforts to preserve the environment and its natural resources. This project will be added to our track record of sustainable achievements, including our carbon capturing project in partnership with the Al Reyadah Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage Facility.”
“Emirates Steel is a member of the world steel Climate Action Program, highlighting that the company is the first steel manufacturer in the region and one of the first 50 companies in the world to be verified for LEED documentation. Moreover, Emirates Steel’s products conform with local and global green buildings rating systems.”
TAQA and Abu Dhabi Ports recently announced an MoU for the development of an industrial scale green ammonia manufacturing and export facility. The new plant would be fuelled by hydrogen produced from power generated by a 2 GW solar PV power plant.
Green hydrogen will form a valuable part of TAQA’s 2030 strategy for growth, which includes growing its gross power capacity from 18 GW to 30 GW in the UAE and adding up to 15 GW internationally. This increase in capacity will focus on renewable energy – particularly solar PV – to comprise more than 30% of its generation portfolio by 2030.