Masdar, the landmark initiative by the Abu Dhabi Government to promote advanced energy and sustainability, today signed an agreement with Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (DUBAL) to develop and register a project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with aluminium smelting.

The CDM project, the first of its kind in the Middle East, targets the monetization of greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting from DUBAL’s new measures to improve the process control at the company’s existing aluminium smelter at Jebel Ali. DUBAL is one of the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the world, having generated almost 861,000 metric tonnes of hot metal in 2006.

The CDM, a project-based mechanism governed and audited by the United Nations (UN), provides financial incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries by turning emission reductions into tradable assets or ‘Carbon Credits’.

In terms of the agreement signed today, Masdar will be responsible to develop the CDM project which will address a new technology to be implemented by DUBAL to reduce emissions of perfluorocarbons (PFCs) during the electrolytic reduction of aluminium.

Abdulla Kalban, DUBAL’s CEO, said ‘Since its inception in 1979, DUBAL has been committed to minimizing its impact on the environment. We achieve this by using in-house developed technological advances and our extensive expertise in the aluminium industry, and it will continue to be a focus area going forward. This CDM project will provide opportunities for us to market our capabilities and achievements, to the benefit of the global environment.’

Evidencing DUBAL’s success at reducing other emissions, a benchmarking exercise involving more than 150 companies in 2005, conducted by the UK-based International Aluminium Institute (IAI), ranked DUBAL’s fluoride emissions resulting from anode production second-lowest in the study group. The company ranked first in the particulate fluoride emissions category; second for gaseous fluoride emissions; and was the third best performing smelter for total fluoride emissions.

Masdar CEO, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, described DUBAL’s new technology to reduce emissions from the smelting process as an excellent CDM opportunity.

‘We consider this project an important milestone in Masdar’s goal to create a low-carbon culture within our national industries,’ added Dr. Al Jaber. ‘It also demonstrates DUBAL’s environmental leadership and commitment to drive a sustainable operation.’

Masdar, a leading carbon-related project developer, is leveraging the CDM to assist in the creation of the necessary conditions for sustainable growth in the region and to address key environmental concerns. Masdar is actively developing a portfolio of CDM projects in oil and gas, power, renewable energy and heavy industry.