- Masdar and EMSTEEL are completing the UAE’s first green steel using green hydrogen.
- The pilot program is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa.
- Accredited by Avance Labs and Bureau Veritas, it ensures a green hydrogen standard
- It also supports the UAE’s Net Zero Hydrogen Strategy up to the 2050 target.
Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy leader, and EMSTEEL, the country’s leading steel producer, today announced the successful pilot production of green steel using green hydrogen in Abu Dhabi. This pioneering project is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, demonstrating the promise of renewable energy to decarbonize the steel industry.
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An existing pilot now operational uses green hydrogen to process iron from ore-iron ore, which plays an important role in making green steel. The clean hydrogen is certified by Avance Labs, which organization is accredited by the International Tracking Standard Foundation and hence the ISO 19870 compliance standard. The audit of this project by Bureau Veritas gives a strong assurance with respect to the global sustainability standard adherence.
The project puts the UAE at the forefront of sustainable steel production in an increasingly green demand-sensitive world. It signals a shift towards low-carbon solutions, aligns with the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 initiative, and complements the National Green Certificates Program of the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, which promotes the use of sustainable materials for construction.
CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi for the Masdar company summed up, “Decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries is key to achieving COP28 targets. Green hydrogen is driving global and national sustainability targets, and this pilot clearly shows the UAE’s commitment to innovation in renewable energy.
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These views were shared by the CEO of EMSTEEL Group, Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, who stated that the company was devoted to the reduction of emissions in a way that is compatible with the UAE’s sustainability goals. Already, in 2023, EMSTEEL attained more than 80% clean energy consumption and became the first steelmaker in the world to capture part of its CO₂ emission, which enabled it to reduce carbon intensity by 45% compared with the global average.
“This partnership with Masdar is fundamental to taking the decarbonization process forward in the entire supply chain of the steel sector,” he states.
This initiative supports Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy, that is, to fix hydrogen as part of the energy future for the UAE. By using green hydrogen technology, the UAE can develop a sustainable model for producing steel, maintaining the delicate balance between economic and environmental benefits.
The move aligns with the UAE National Hydrogen Strategy, whereby it seeks to make the country one of the world’s top low-carbon hydrogen producers by 2031.
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This Masdar and EMSTEEL pilot indeed is an important step on the pathway to reduce steel’s sectoral contribution in steelmaking, the tough-to-abate emissions. The commercial development is to come as positioned thus far in green steel and hydrogen production for the United Arab Emirates. By building pioneers that would help support solutions for the decarbonizing of the global economy, the UAE demonstrates a power commitment toward a sustainable and low-carbon future.
