UAE steel industry moves towards decarbonisation with nuclear energy certificates

EMSTEEL Group has announced a major step towards decarbonizing the steel industry in the UAE by acquiring nuclear-generated Clean Energy Certificates through Abu Dhabi’s Clean Energy Certificates Programme. According to the statement, these certificates are issued under the I-REC Standard and overseen by Emirates Water & Electricity Company (EWEC). The deal, negotiated with Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC), marks an early industrial-scale use of nuclear power to cut Scope 2 emissions in one of the region’s toughest sectors to decarbonize.

EMSTEEL described this move as an extension of its TrueGreen sustainability platform, which they say consolidates many years of efforts in decarbonisation. The company claims that these new certificates give it access to cleaner electricity and directly help reduce the Scope 2 emissions related to their steel and cement operations. EMSTEEL has already integrated cleaner electricity into a significant part of its activities, noting that about 86% of its steel operations and 14% of cement production are powered by verified clean energy sources. They further report that they’ve matched 1,484,067 MWh to nuclear energy and 651,594 MWh to solar certificates, with the goal of reaching 100% clean electricity usage by 2030.

Group CEO Eng Saeed Ghemran Al Remeithi commented, “Clean energy, technology enablement, and verified data are at the core of credible industrial decarbonization. Through TrueGreen, we’re weaving these principles into every part of our operations. This collaboration with ENEC helps us strengthen our clean energy portfolio and supports our long-term goal to scale up low-carbon steel production. It’s pretty interesting, right? It also shows how national partnerships can really speed up industrial transformation and position the UAE as a global leader in sustainable manufacturing.”

ENEC, on its part, emphasized that pairing carbon-free baseload power with consistent industrial demand offers a pragmatic model for the energy transition. Mohamed Al Hammadi, managing director and CEO of ENEC, said the arrangement “demonstrates what the energy transition actually looks like, clean power at industrial scale, delivered with traceable certificates, while still ensuring grid reliability.” He added that this collaboration builds on a decade of teamwork and could be replicated in other sectors that are traditionally hard to decarbonize.

The accompanying ENEC materials shed some light on the scale of their operation. They state that the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant produces roughly 40 TWh of carbon-free electricity each year. When fully operational, the four reactors at Barakah are designed to provide about 5,600 MW of baseload capacity, which could account for roughly 25% of the UAE’s total electricity needs. ENEC estimates that Barakah prevents around 22.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually, that’s like removing about 4.8 million cars from the roads every year.

Industry watchers note that combining certificate schemes with large, reliable baseload sources like nuclear can help manufacturers cut emissions claims without worrying as much about intermittency issues often associated with renewables. Clean Energy Certificates help create an auditable link between low-carbon energy production and industrial clients. Of course, the success of such schemes depends heavily on robust tracking, clear rules for additionality, and transparent accounting to make sure certificates truly reflect genuine emissions reductions, not simply transferring green attributes held elsewhere.

Supporting its recent moves, EMSTEEL also recalls its earlier contribution to the Barakah project, during which it supplied 160,000 tonnes of nuclear-grade rebar for the plant’s construction. EMSTEEL says this prior supply agreement laid the groundwork for the trust in their current partnership, both commercially and operationally.

This alliance also aligns with broader UAE policy ambitions. The country’s Net Zero by 2050 strategy and intermediate targets emphasize diversifying clean energy sources while keeping the electricity grid reliable. ENEC positions Barakah as a vital complement to renewable energy, providing steady baseload power as the share of variable renewables continues to grow. The recent startup of Unit 4 is seen as a key part of the country’s push toward achieving its decarbonization goals faster.

However, some climate analysts remain cautious, arguing that relying solely on certificates isn’t enough for truly deep industry decarbonization. They advocate pairing certificate purchases with measures like improving energy efficiency, electrifying processes, substituting materials, and deploying on-site low-carbon energy sources when possible. For steelmakers, these measures might mean adopting electric arc furnaces using scrap metal, hydrogen-based reduction, or carbon capture technologies on existing plant processes.

EMSTEEL, on its side, emphasizes its TrueGreen pathway, combining clean energy sourcing with technological innovation and verified data. They aim for 100% clean electricity by 2030 as part of a broader plan to decarbonize their entire product lineup. ENEC, meanwhile, frames Barakah’s output as a platform for the UAE to decouple economic growth from emissions and to export its clean electricity solutions at scale.

All in all, this EMSTEEL–ENEC partnership exemplifies how large-scale, low-carbon power generation can be channeled into industrial decarbonization activities. Both companies suggest it’s a model that could be adopted for other hard-to-abate sectors in the region. Still, the real impact on reducing the emissions intensity of UAE steel will depend on how well the certificates are maintained with ongoing traceability, the amount of additional clean power secured, and how quickly EMSTEEL implements complementary measures at the plant level.

Source: Noah Wire Services