Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has restarted 631 of the 1,262 reduction cells at its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter in the UAE, marking a major milestone in recovery efforts following an emergency shutdown on March 28 amid regional security developments that affected operations at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.
The shutdown required a full evacuation of the Al Taweelah site, leaving molten aluminium frozen inside every reduction cell. EGA began restarting the first restored cell on May 26 and is now progressing across all three potlines simultaneously, with teams working to restore the remaining cells.
Despite the scale of the disruption, EGA continues to expect the Al Taweelah aluminium smelter to return to full production during the first quarter of 2027.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, said, “With our sustained good progress, we continue to expect that we will reach full production at Al Taweelah smelter during Q1 2027. The restoration of Al Taweelah is the biggest challenge we have ever faced as a company. Thousands of dedicated colleagues are working around the clock to bring back Al Taweelah, and EGA, stronger than ever before.”
Following restart, each reduction cell typically takes a week to stabilise and reach full production. Some of the hot metal produced during this stage is used to restart subsequent cells, while the remainder is sent to EGA’s Casthouse to be cast into finished aluminium products.