Source : WAM
EMSTEEL Group, one of the region’s largest publicly listed integrated steel and building materials producers, has announced major updates to its partnership with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) aimed at decarbonising steel production. Under the initiative, EMSTEEL will source clean, nuclear-generated electricity certified through Abu Dhabi’s Clean Energy Certificates Programme (I-REC Standard), which is managed by the Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC).
The Clean Energy Certificates Programme highlights the role of nuclear energy in enabling cleaner manufacturing and reinforces the UAE’s position as a global leader in sustainable industrial development. The initiative also supports TrueGreen, EMSTEEL’s sustainability platform that brings together its long-standing decarbonisation efforts.
This development builds on a decade-long collaboration between EMSTEEL and ENEC. During the construction of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant—the first multi-unit operational nuclear facility in the MENA region—EMSTEEL supplied 160,000 tonnes of nuclear-grade rebar, covering 60 per cent of the project’s total rebar requirements.
By purchasing nuclear-generated Clean Energy Certificates, EMSTEEL gains access to low-carbon electricity, directly reducing Scope 2 emissions and lowering the overall carbon footprint of steel produced in the UAE. This move positions EMSTEEL as the first steel producer in the region to use nuclear-based Clean Energy Certificates, demonstrating leadership and accountability in one of the world’s most challenging sectors to decarbonise.
Currently, EMSTEEL has integrated clean electricity into 86 per cent of its steel operations and 14 per cent of its cement production. This includes a combined total of 1,484,067 megawatt-hours of nuclear energy and 651,594 megawatt-hours of solar energy across its steel and cement facilities. The company aims to achieve 100 per cent clean electricity by 2030, in line with its long-term decarbonisation strategy.
Eng Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, Group CEO of EMSTEEL, said, “Clean energy, technology enablement, and verified data are central to credible industrial decarbonisation. Through TrueGreen, we are integrating these principles into every aspect of our operations. This synergy with ENEC strengthens our clean energy portfolio and supports our long-term strategy to scale low-carbon steel production. It reflects how national partnerships can accelerate industrial transformation and position the UAE as a global leader in sustainable manufacturing.”
Mohamed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, said, “Pairing ENEC’s carbon-free baseload electricity with EMSTEEL’s continuous industrial load demand shows what the energy transition looks like in practice: clean power at industrial scale, delivered with traceable certificates while in parallel ensuring grid reliability. This collaboration turns a decade of partnership into a repeatable model for hard-to-abate sectors, lowering Scope 2 emissions today while strengthening competitiveness and supply-chain certainty. As demand from AI, electrification, and industry grow, Barakah’s proven performance gives the UAE a platform to decouple growth from emissions and to export proven solutions to generate abundant clean electricity at scale to a highly efficient timeline.”
The agreement underscores the importance of cross-sector collaboration in driving the UAE’s industrial transformation. EMSTEEL is setting a regional standard for low-carbon steel production, demonstrating that industrial competitiveness and the energy transition can progress together in support of the UAE’s Net Zero 2050 Strategy.
Owned and developed by ENEC, the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant generates around 40 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, meeting up to 25 per cent of the UAE’s power demand and preventing approximately 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year. Each unit was delivered in an average of 7.9 years, setting a global benchmark for civil nuclear energy deployment.
With at least 60 years of operational life ahead, Barakah highlights how nuclear energy can enhance national energy security and sustainability, strengthening the power grid and supporting long-term industrial growth.
