Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy company, and EMSTEEL, a UAE-based steel and building materials company, have successfully completed a pilot project in Abu Dhabi using green hydrogen to produce green steel. This project, the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, uses green hydrogen to extract iron from iron ore, a crucial process in steel production. The project is fully operational and has begun producing green steel.
Steel production is a large and energy-intensive industry in the UAE. Globally, the steel sector contributes around seven to eight percent of total carbon emissions, making decarbonizing this industry an important step for achieving global net-zero targets. The UAE, aiming to establish itself as a hub for green steel production, sees rising demand for green steel as a potential growth area. The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure launched the National Green Certificates Program in July 2024 to promote sustainable building materials, including green steel.
Masdar’s CEO, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, highlighted the project’s role in reducing emissions in challenging industries, aligning with the UAE’s decarbonization goals outlined at COP28. Green hydrogen is central to both national and international decarbonization goals.
Eng. Saeed Ghumran Al Remeithi, CEO of EMSTEEL, noted “the company’s commitment to the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategy. EMSTEEL’s current use of clean energy exceeds 80%, and it has achieved a 45% reduction in carbon intensity compared to the global average. The partnership with Masdar supports further decarbonization in the steel sector and across its supply chain”.
The pilot aligns with Abu Dhabi’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Policy, which promotes low-carbon hydrogen for economic growth, sustainability, and energy security. Masdar has expanded its renewable energy capacity to over 40 countries. The company’s targets include reaching 100GW of renewable capacity and producing 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen or equivalent derivatives annually by 2030.
