The industrial landscape of the Middle East has just witnessed a monumental triumph as Emirates Global Aluminium proudly inaugurates the UAE’s largest aluminium recycling plant. This newly established aluminium recycling plant, strategically located at the sprawling Al Taweelah complex in Abu Dhabi, represents an unprecedented milestone in Emirates Global Aluminium‘s aggressive global expansion into low-carbon operations and significantly accelerates the United Arab Emirates’ transition toward a highly sustainable circular economy.
The high-profile inauguration ceremony was attended by prominent dignitaries and environmental leaders, including Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak, Minister of Climate Change and Environment; Dr. Shaikha Salem Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD); along with Emirates Global Aluminium Chairman Homaid Al Shimmari, Vice Chairman Saeed Al Tayer, and members of the board and senior management team.
Advancing the UAE’s Circular Economy
At its core, this advanced aluminium recycling plant boasts a formidable production capacity of 185,000 tonnes per year. It is expertly designed to process both post-consumer and pre-consumer aluminium scrap into premium, low-carbon billets and T-bars, which will be marketed globally under the RevivAL brand. Furthermore, the company is blending this recycled metal with primary metal produced using solar power (CelestiAL-R) and nuclear power (MinimAL-R). By locally capturing massive volumes of scrap that have historically been exported and lost to the national economy, Emirates Global Aluminium now firmly stands as the absolute largest domestic consumer of aluminium scrap in the UAE.
Highlighting the profound environmental and economic impact of this facility, Dr. Amna bint Abdullah Al Dahak stated:
“Recycling is the cornerstone of the UAE’s Circular Economy Policy which aims to transform the nation into a global hub for green development by shifting from linear to circular production and consumption, enhancing resource efficiency, and minimising waste. Aluminium represents one of our greatest opportunities to drive this transition from linear to circular model of production. It is infinitely recyclable, protecting our ecosystems while fuelling a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Recycling aluminium waste requires up to 95 per cent less energy compared to producing new primary aluminium from raw ore, saving significant energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
Praising the company’s visionary commitment to the planet, she added:
“Emirates Global Aluminium has been a pioneer of our nation’s industry for decades, and today, they are leading the charge as our national champion in aluminium recycling. I congratulate EGA on the strategic growth of its recycling business both here in the UAE and globally, proving that industrial leadership and climate action go hand in hand.”
Resilience and Unprecedented Global Expansion
The physical construction of the aluminium recycling plant was an engineering marvel, demanding over 4 million safe work hours completed with zero injuries requiring time off. The massive project utilized more than 26,300 cubic metres of concrete—equivalent to 10 Olympic-size swimming pools—and over 4,600 metric tonnes of structural steel, weighing nearly two-thirds of the Eiffel Tower.
Though initial recycled metal production successfully began in February 2026, the final commissioning phase faced a temporary pause following an Iranian attack on the Khalifa Economic Zone in Abu Dhabi on March 28. Showcasing remarkable operational resilience, work swiftly resumed in April, and recycled cast metal production fully restarted by early May. The ramp-up to maximum production is projected to take up to six months, contingent strictly upon scrap availability.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, emphasized the strategic national importance of this facility during the opening:
“The inauguration of Al Taweelah recycling plant is a major milestone in EGA’s development of a global aluminium recycling business. This new plant turns aluminium waste generated in the UAE and elsewhere into new aluminium that makes modern life possible around the world. With this project, we have added a new industrial activity to EGA’s operations in the UAE, in line with Make it in the Emirates and the UAE’s Operation 300bn industrial growth strategy.”
This localized recycling effort is merely one pillar of an aggressive global footprint. Supported by recent acquisitions in Germany and the United States, Emirates Global Aluminium‘s total recycling capacity has now surged past 400,000 tonnes annually. With ongoing expansions like a new facility near Hannover, a second phase in Minnesota, and an impending 80 per cent stake acquisition in Italy’s Eco Green, the company is actively developing an additional 200,000 tonnes of international capacity.
As the world urgently demands greener manufacturing, Emirates Global Aluminium is proving that immense industrial scale and environmental stewardship can successfully coexist, reshaping the future of sustainable metal production worldwide.
