Emirates Steel Arkan (ESA) announced today its participation in COP28, aligning with the UAE’s strategic initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 as well as its goals set forth to prioritize climate change, reduce emissions and limit global warming. As the UAE’s national champion company in the steel and building materials sector, Emirates Steel Arkan is demonstrating its commitment to supporting the world in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors at COP28, through working with all stakeholders to achieve tangible emission reduction, reflecting the vision of the UAE and the COP28 Presidency.
COP-28 participation
By prioritizing sustainability as a pathway to economic prosperity, ESA will highlight its pro-climate and pro-growth underlying vision of steelmaking and building materials as the foundation of sustainable prosperity and collaboration between nations.
The Group is also showcasing its pioneering low-carbon solutions through innovation across the value chain, from the sourcing of raw materials to the delivery of finished products. As an early adopter of clean technologies, ESA is raising ambition to mitigate carbon emissions, integrate renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, conserve the environment, and enhance supply chain sustainability.
In addition, Emirates Steel Arkan is highlighting its efforts in reducing the climate and environmental impact of the steel and building material industry across the five pillars of carbon emissions, energy consumption, resource depletion, waste and supply chain sustainability. The Group is on course to cut carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 and aiming at achieving Net-Zero by 2050, having achieved a 35% reduction in emissions intensity compared to the 2019 baseline.
The Group will also underline the importance of collaboration to meet its ambitious decarbonization goals. Just recently, ESA announced a partnership with Masdar to produce ‘green steel’, a premium product sought after by European manufacturers eager to meet their net-zero goals.
In partnership with Masdar, Emirates Steel Arkan is developing MENA region’s first green hydrogen-based steel project to decarbonize the UAE’s hard-to-abate steel sector. The pilot project is the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East and North African region. Located in the Emirates Steel Arkan production facilities at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi, the project is currently in the installation phase. Electrolyzers have already been delivered to the site to help produce ‘green steel’, a premium product sought after by global manufacturers eager to meet their net-zero goals. Expected to be commissioned in early 2024, the project will demonstrate the use of green hydrogen – instead of natural gas – to extract iron from iron ore, a key step in steelmaking.
A clear strategy towards achieving carbon neutrality
As the world races to meet ambitious decarbonization targets and embrace sustainable practices, Emirates Steel Arkan (ESA) stands out among the leading decarbonized steel and building materials manufacturers in the world, pioneering the sustainable transformation through innovative practices across the entire value chain. Today, the Group is actively driving significant efforts to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries, achieve tangible emission reductions and promote sustainable practices industry-wide, a commitment that extends beyond its operations to include suppliers and partners.
The Group is charting the path for sustainable industry, with a stated objective of reducing 40% in carbon emissions by 2030 and aiming at achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Through its detailed decarbonization roadmap built on carbon capture, green hydrogen, clean energy, scrap metal utilization, and energy efficiency, Emirates Steel Arkan is committed to reducing the climate and environmental impact of the steel and building materials industry. Demonstrating tangible progress towards this goal, Emirates Steel Arkan has achieved significant reductions amounting to 35% in emissions intensity in 2022 by sourcing 80% of clean electricity and utilizing carbon capture and scrap metal. ESA’s production process also emits less than half carbon compared to average levels across the world steel industry.
The Group has also implemented a comprehensive monitoring system to closely track its production processes and emissions, ensuring strict adherence to the highest standards and best practices not only in the UAE but also globally. ESA is also the first company in the world to capture its CO2 emissions, through a partnership with ADNOC’s Al Reyadah Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage facility.
Further reinforcing its global sustainability stature, ESA is leveraging innovation across its products. In addition to the ES600 innovative low-carbon rebar, which is now being used as the steel rebar of choice in the construction of SOBHA Reality and Al Habtoor Group’s latest projects in Dubai, the Group recently introduced a new U-shaped hot rolled steel sheet pile section that aligns with the company’s strategies for reduce, reuse, and recycle, offering practical and environmental benefits.
Overall, the Group is actively involved in continuous research and development initiatives to explore new materials and processes that have lower carbon emissions – all while continuing to broaden its product range with higher-value, higher-margin products that capitalize on advanced technologies and industry-pioneering carbon capture.
Partnerships are also vital in ESA’s journey towards establishing a green steel hub and driving sustainable growth in the UAE, the region and worldwide. The Group is conducting feasibility studies to develop a cutting-edge green steel hub that integrates advanced technologies and low-emission processes to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly steel products and strengthen the UAE’s sustainable industrial ecosystem. Just recently, Emirates Steel Arkan signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with AD Ports Group, ITOCHU, and JFE Steel to collaborate on establishing the integrated low-carbon iron supply chain complex in Abu Dhabi, aiming to produce low carbon emission raw materials, including Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) and Low Carbon Emission Iron.
