EGA Extends CelestiAL-R Supply Agreement With BMW Group For Sustainable Aluminium Production

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has announced an extension of its CelestiAL-R supply agreement with the BMW Group for the coming years. This unique aluminium blend, made from solar power and recycled metal, is used by BMW for high-quality vehicle components. Oliver Zipse, Chairman of BMW AG's Board of Management, visited EGA’s Jebel Ali plant and Dubai Electricity & Water Authority’s solar park to commemorate this new agreement.

EGA has been supplying aluminium to BMW since 2013. In 2021, BMW became the first customer to purchase CelestiAL solar aluminium. Since early 2023, all metal supplied by EGA to BMW has been CelestiAL-R. The agreement ensures that tens of thousands of tonnes will be supplied annually, with plans to increase the recycled metal content significantly.

Abdulnasser bin Kalban, CEO of EGA, stated, "The BMW Group demands the highest quality metal produced with solar power, and this continues to drive our innovation at EGA. Over the coming years, we will further increase the proportion of recycled metal in our CelestiAL-R for the BMW Group while meeting their metal quality specifications. I thank the BMW Group for their trust in EGA."

Producing high-quality metal from diverse scrap sources presents technical challenges. To ensure CelestiAL-R meets exact specifications, EGA uses optical emission spectrometry for detailed chemical analysis throughout production. Advanced metallurgy labs at Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah support this process.

Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely. Recycling requires 95% less electricity than producing new metal and results in much lower greenhouse gas emissions. EGA sources recycled aluminium locally within the UAE and is constructing the country's largest aluminium recycling facility in Al Taweelah.

The upcoming recycling plant will have a capacity of 170 thousand tonnes of secondary billets annually. The first hot metal output from this facility is anticipated in 2026. This development underscores EGA's commitment to sustainability and efficient resource use.

This extended partnership with BMW highlights a shared commitment to sustainable practices and innovation in materials sourcing and production. By increasing recycled content in its products, EGA aims to meet both environmental goals and customer expectations for quality.

With inputs from WAM