The United Arab Emirates (UAE) claimed it will be the world’s 1st state to produce aluminium using solar energy after a massive power deal involving in 1 of the world’s largest renewable energy projects.

Utility Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) will supply up to 560GWh annually from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to metals group Emirates Global Aluminium, said a statement from the 2 companies.

Emirates Global Aluminium will tap the power to produce a new brand of green aluminium under the name CelestiAL, targets export markets around the world that are increasingly looking for supplies zero carbon materials to meet the regulatory or corporate decarbonisation goals.

The solar deal will enable production of 40,000 tonnes of aluminium in its 1st year with scope for “significant expansion”, said the partners.

Along with the likes of chemicals, metals is among a clutch of energy intensive industries seen as among the toughest to decarbonise and wean off heavy use of fossil-based sources.

Existing power deals between the renewable sources metals industry and the metals industry have focused on wind, including a 1.65TWh 2018 deal for Swedish output struck by aluminium producer Norsk Hydro that was seen as a pioneer of the sector.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park already has 1GW in place and is due to hit 5GW by the year 2030 using a mix of PV and concentrating solar power (CSP) technology.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium said: “Aluminium is lightweight, strong and infinitely recyclable metal and these properties mean that as a material it plays a important global role in the development of a sustainable future. However, it also counts how sustainably aluminium is made.”