Emirates Steel Arkan (ESA), one of the largest publicly traded steel and building materials manufacturers in the region, has announced its strategic collaboration with Magsort, a Finnish decarbonisation company, to drive an innovative initiative across its Al Ain Cement Factory.

The partnership, which comes following COP28 commitment and contribution to the UAE First Long-Term Strategy (LTS) towards Net Zero by 2050, was announced during the Cemtech Middle East & Africa Conference 2024 in Dubai last month.

The strategic deal positions ESA’s cement operations at the forefront of sustainability, aligning seamlessly with the group’s decarbonisation targets and setting the stage for a transformative approach to green cement production.

The collaboration between ESA and Magsort will initiate in Al Ain Cement plant the first large-scale industrial pilot project, targeting a CO2 footprint reduction of up to 15 per cent by implementing the proprietary Magsort solutions to process steel slag, while reducing both limestone and fuel consumption.

Group CEO Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi says: “Emirates Steel Arkan is an industry market leader in innovating and embracing green solutions that help decarbonise the sector’s value chain. This collaboration demonstrates that ESA is driving the industry efforts undertaken during COP28 and will position the company as the leader of the cement industry in achieving the UAE LTS targets.”

“The possibility to process steel slag produced by Emirates Steel, is also an extraordinary example of circular economy within the UAE, where both business units (Steel and Building Materials) will develop solid economical synergies while contributing to sustainable practices,” he states.  

Hugo Losada, the CEO of Building Materials, an ESA company, says: “The collaboration with Magsort defines a breakthrough achievement in the cement industry, which will further support us to drive ESA’s decarbonisation agenda. Al Ain cement plant will be the first large-scale industrial pilot project in the Mena region for this solution.

“The objective is to achieve by 2026 the decarbonisation targets defined for 2030, placing ESA as the industry leader in the Mena region, while placing a solid step forward towards the decarbonization of cement.”

Magsort CEO Kalle Rasinmaki says: “We are excited to partner with ESA, who shares our vision for the future of cement and steel production. We have been very impressed with the speed and resolve of the decision-making process to implement concrete actions aiming to the decarbonisation of cement manufacturing.”

“Magsort has since the beginning been focusing on total solution around steel slag, not only increased metal recovery but also putting the mineral portion in large volumes back to circulation to be used as cement raw material. Co-operation with ESA allows us to do exactly that,” he adds.

ESA and Magsort anticipate that this forward-thinking initiative will serve as a model for sustainable practices within the UAE building materials industry.