Mercedes-Benz parts maker to source solar aluminium from UAE's EGA

Hammerer Aluminum Industries (HAI), a car parts supplier to Mercedes-Benz AG (ETR:MBG), has agreed to procure aluminium produced with solar power from UAE-based Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA).

EGA already supplies thousands of tonnes of aluminium to the Austrian car parts maker each year and part of this supply will now switch to CelestiAL solar aluminium, the two companies said on Thursday.

“This partnership with EGA enables us to contribute to a better future and shows that aluminium has a key role to play in achieving the European Union’s Green Deal ambitions to decarbonise manufacturing," said HAI's chief executive Rob van Gils.

The Abu Dhabi-based industrial company last year began the commercial production of aluminium using solar power supplied by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). The latter operates the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai with a capacity of 1,013 MW. The use of solar power substantially cuts carbon greenhouse gas emissions during aluminium smelting.

The aluminium maker expects to significantly boost the production of CelestiAL solar aluminium thanks to a partnership with Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, known as Taqa, the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) and Dubal Holding. The deal, signed in March, will raise the share of clean energy in EGA's aluminium production as it would give the manufacturer access to existing solar plants.

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