DUBAL’s strategic sponsorship contributes to success of WETEX 2013

Clearly demonstrating its corporate commitment to supporting the initiatives of the Dubai government, Dubai Aluminium, DUBAL, played a key role in the success of the Water Energy Technology and Environment Exhibition, WETEX 2013, which took place at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from 15 to 17 April 2013 under the patronage of H H Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, UAE Minister of Finance and Chairman of DUBAL. The WETEX 2013 theme “Sustainable Development for All” was brought to life by raising awareness on advanced technologies in the areas of energy, i.e. fossil fuel, nuclear, renewable, power generation, smart grids, efficiency, conservation; water, i.e. management, treatment, desalination, utilities; and environment, i.e. waste management, green buildings and carbon dioxide reduction solutions. The event also provided a forum for sharing expertise as well as promoting new developments and best practices. 

As a Strategic Sponsor of WETEX 2013, DUBAL not only contributed substantially to the staging of the event but was also an active participant. Two main avenues were leveraged:

An exhibition stand at WETEX 2013 which highlighted DUBAL’s world-leading in-house developed DX and DX+ reduction cell technologies that, by operating at higher amperages, not only increase productivity but also reduce the impact of DUBAL’s smelter operations on the environment through improved energy efficiency and minimised emission levels. The spotlight fell on DUBAL’s commitment to energy conservation, specifically the fuel-efficiency enabled by the unique cogeneration configuration of the company’s captive 2,350 megawatt power station (at 30˚C); and its energy-saving successes achieved through implementing a combination of the initiatives mandated by the Dubai Supreme Council for Energy (“DSCE”) in terms of Dubai’s 2030 energy conservation strategy and DUBAL’s own innovation-based progress in energy-efficiency. This was further endorsed by illustrating DUBAL’s successful and sustained achievement of the highest standards in environmental protection, from optimizing raw material usage through effective energy-use management to minimizing environmental impact through stringent management of air emissions, effluent discharge and waste.

On the first day of WETEX 2013, Dr Maryam Mohammad Al Jallaf Al Qubaisi (Senior Manager Process Control Potrooms & Cell Lining) received H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai) and H H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (President of Dubai Civil Aviation, Chairman of Emirates Airline Group, and Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy) on the DUBAL stand on two separate occasions; and used the opportunity to explain DUBAL’s  efficiency-improvement efforts which target optimised consumption of energy and water through technological innovation.

Participation by Tayeb Al Awadhi (Vice President: Power & Desalination) in the WETEX 2013 seminars hosted in parallel to the exhibition. Al Awadhi’s presentation covered the absorption chiller project at DUBAL, the pilot phase of which was inaugurated at the end of March this year.  The pilot absorption chiller, installed on the rooftop of the DUBAL Desalination Plant control building, utilizes available steam in DUBAL’s Power and Desalination Plant, without compromising the power and desalination processes, to produce chilled water for the air-conditioning units which are currently operated by electrically-driven chillers. The project is the first of its kind in a power plant in the UAE and is expected to reduce power consumption by approximately 60 per cent.  

With a hot metal production capacity in excess of one million metric tonnes per year, DUBAL’s Jebel Ali complex ranks as the world’s largest single-site primary aluminium smelter using pre-baked anode technology. DUBAL is internationally renowned for its premium purity, high quality products, which are shipped to over 300 customers in about 57 countries across the globe. DUBAL also owns 50 per cent of Emirates Aluminium (“EMAL”) in Al Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, and holds shares in upstream development projects within the bauxite/alumina and calcined petroleum coke sectors.