Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has brought half of the reduction cells at its Al Taweelah facility back online, according to Khaleej Times. The Abu Dhabi plant, situated in the Khalifa Economic Zone, suffered significant damage from Iranian missiles and drones on March 28, 2026. This strike occurred during the broader US-Iran conflict and forced an emergency shutdown, which led to a complete evacuation of the site. The sudden halt left molten aluminium solidifying inside every unit, creating heavy metal pads that required removal.
The company reported that 631 out of 1,262 cells have been restarted since the first unit returned to service on May 26. EGA teams are currently working across three potlines to restore the remaining capacity. Khaleej Times noted that nearly 80 percent of the cells can be reactivated once the frozen metal is extracted. The remaining units need more extensive repairs, including demolition and relining, depending on how long they had been operating before the incident. Each restarted cell generally requires a week to stabilize before it can operate at full capacity.
Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, EGA’s Chief Executive Officer, stated that the company expects to achieve full production at Al Taweelah during the first quarter of 2027. He described the recovery effort as the most significant challenge the firm has encountered. EGA, the largest industrial entity in the UAE beyond oil and gas, manufactured 1.6 million tonnes of cast metal in 2025. The firm held substantial metal inventory in transit and in overseas locations when the conflict began, which helped buffer immediate supply issues.
To speed up the recovery, EGA tripled its repair and restart capacity by optimizing workflows and adding equipment. The company also piloted E40 upgrades on 13 DX technology cells. This pilot aims to validate performance before rolling out the technology to all 808 DX cells, which could boost annual hot metal output by 67,000 tonnes. After restart, some hot metal is used to ignite subsequent cells, while the rest is sent to the Casthouse for final processing.