Dubai Aluminium Company DUBAL, the seventh largest producer of premium quality aluminium in the world, hosted the 71st meeting of the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) Board of Directors, comprising CEOs of the world’s major primary aluminium producers and worldwide aluminium association officials. The meeting was held for the first time in Dubai and the entire Middle East.
While on the first day of the three-day event, the IAI board of directors, global aluminium industry association leaders and senior officials had an extensive tour of the sprawling DUBAL smelter complex, on the remaining two days the meeting was held at the Al Qasr Hotel in Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, focusing on the global industry growth, “Aluminium for Future Generations” Sustainability Programme, PFC emissions, recycling and fuel efficiency.
Some of the global aluminium majors which sent their CEOs and senior executives to the event in Dubai include Organization of European Aluminium Refiners and Remelters (OEA), Aluminium Bahrain ALBA, Russian Aluminium JSC (Rusal-SUAL), Alcoa Inc, Alcan Inc, BHP Billiton Aluminium SA Ltd., Rio Tinto Aluminium, Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco), Elkem A/S, Glencore International AG, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co Ltd, Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd., and aluminium associations from various countries.
“The choice of Dubai as the venue for the meeting of global heads in the aluminium industry is an affirmation of the leading status of the emirate and DUBAL’s success seen in the past 27 years. In addition, the worldwide recognition of GCC region as a key location for future growth of the global aluminium sector,” said Mr. Abdulla Kalban, CEO of DUBAL.
According to IAI, the region’s share of world aluminium production is expected to double over the next five years to 12 per cent. The region already has two major producers – Aluminium Bahrain BSC (ALBA) and DUBAL. Together, ALBA and DUBAL produce in excess of 1.6 million tonnes of metal per annum while at least four more plants are under construction or planned.
The Middle East has emerged as the most favored destination for aluminum producers seeking refuge from the higher energy costs rampant in Europe and North America. In the UAE alone two more major multi-billion dollar aluminium projects – Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) and Abu Dhabi Aluminium Company (AAC) – are coming up.
These are besides the major projects being planed in the region including Sohar Aluminium (325.000 TPA) and Qatalum (570,000 TPA) in Doha. Saudi Arabia recently approved construction of a US$3.8-billion 623,000-TPA smelter to be developed by state-owned mining company Maaden.
Moreover other global players are looking at the region for setting up projects or joint ventures. Canadian aluminium producer Alcan Primary Metal Group is prepared to spend US$3 billion in the short term to set up smelters. in the GCC region and is eyeing a 700,000 TPA plant in Saudi Arabia.
“Such major investments in the region by global majors will play a key role in greatly facilitating employment generation, leading to overall social development,” remarked Mr. Kalban.
Demand for world aluminium increased from 28 million tonnes in 1990 to over 40 million tonnes in 2006 and is estimated to rise to 65 million tonnes by 2020. Primary production grew by eight per cent in 2006 and in February 2007 global production reached the milestone of 100,000 tonnes per day for the first time.
The demand for aluminium products is growing because of their positive contribution to modern living. Some of the product areas where aluminium helps in operational efficiently include air, road and sea transport; food and medicine; packaging; construction; electronics and electrical power transmission.
Role of the IAI
The international Aluminium Institute Member companies collectively produce about 80 per cent of the world’s primary aluminium. The meeting in Dubai provided the forum for the industry’s leaders to review progress against the IAI’s global sustainability goals and to determine further actions. The industry is a pioneer in taking global responsibility for its facilities’ continuous improvement worldwide, commented Mr. Oscar Groeneveld, CEO of Rio Tinto & Chairman of IAI.
Although significant quantities of energy are required to produce primary aluminium, its products can save energy and greenhouse gas emissions through their use, reuse and infinite recyclability. A key commitment of the global industry is therefore to satisfy ongoing increasing demand for aluminium products whilst improving social and environmental impacts through their production and use.
Pioneering a Global Sectoral Sustainability Programme
To this end, the global aluminium industry participates in a pioneering global sectoral programme of continuous improvement, the “Aluminium for Future Generations” Sustainability Programme. It has 12 voluntary objectives and 22 performance indicators across the aluminium life cycle for areas such as workplace health and safety, environmental and safety management systems, mine rehabilitation, water use, energy efficiency, emissions reduction including greenhouse gases, product use, the recovery and recycling of aluminium.
Climate Change
One of the greatest opportunities and challenges facing the aluminium industry today is the issue of climate change (with primary metal production responsible for 0.4 per cent of global man made emissions and the energy required to turn alumina into aluminium a further 0.6 per cent). The IAI has developed a four-pronged voluntary strategy to meet the challenges of climate change. The four key areas are (1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions, (2) increasing energy efficiency, (3) maximising recycling and reuse of aluminium and (4) promoting the lightweighting of vehicles. The 2006 Survey of Perfluorocarbon (PFC) Emissions (potent greenhouse gases formed during brief upset conditions in the primary aluminium production process) recorded further progress towards achieving the voluntary objective of a 80 per cent reduction in PFC emissions per tonne of aluminium produced by 2010 compared to 1990, with a 76 per cent reduction by 2005. Even though the production of aluminium has increased by 44 per cent since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions globally from the production process have been reduced by 32 per cent. As regards the energy objective of a 10 per cent improvement in efficiency between 1990 and 2010, smelting achieved a 5 per cent improvement from 1990 to 2005 and alumina refining 10 per cent.
Recycling
Aluminium products can be used, recycled and reused almost endlessly. Nearly three quarters of all aluminium ever produced (over 700 million tonnes) remains in use today, representing a growing energy and resource bank. Recycling requires up to 95 per cent less energy than that required for primary aluminium production, and avoids the corresponding emissions. The recycling of aluminium from used products saves an estimated 80 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The contribution of the recycled metal ‘resource’ to the global output of aluminium products has increased from 17 per cent in 1960 to 34 per cent today. It is projected to rise to almost 40 per cent by 2020. Global recycling rates are high, with approximately 90 per cent of the metal used for transport and construction applications recovered, and over 60 per cent of used beverage cans are collected. In recognition of the importance of promoting recycling the IAI has recycling members and shares experts with its recycling counterpart organization (OEA).
Fuel Efficiency
The transport sector is responsible for around 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The high strength to-weight ratio of aluminium plays a crucial role in producing lighter road vehicles and other forms of transport, reducing fuel consumption. Up to eight per cent fuel savings can be realised for every ten per cent reduction in weight. One kilogram of aluminium used to replace heavier materials in a car or light truck has the potential to eliminate 20 kg of CO2 over the lifetime of the vehicle. For other means of transport the potential savings from lightweighting with aluminium are even greater, such as 50 kg for buses, 80kg for commuter trains and 1400kg for high speed ferries.
Long Term Aim
The goal for 2020 and beyond is for aluminium to help in saving more greenhouse gas emissions than it creates directly and indirectly through its production. The IAI’s projections show that greenhouse gas emissions from the worldwide aluminium industry will be fully offset through a combination of reduction measures, including increased recycling and the reuse of aluminium in applications such as the light-weighting of transport by around 2020. The use of aluminium in vehicle lightweighting could potentially avoid greenhouse gas emissions of 500 million tonnes by 2020.
