The quest for sustainability is forcing us to rethink everything from how we build to what materials we use, one of which was about to be phased out en masse, but they’ve just changed their strategy. The reason? They’ve just discovered that we couldn’t move forward with renewables without it.
Aluminium is gaining ground in construction: it is already almost as widely used as concrete
One of many such substitutes, aluminum, is already on the high rise in terms of its usage as a construction material globally. Historically, concrete and steel have ruled the roost in buildings and infrastructure, but aluminum is shaping as an outstanding choice.
The international market of this building material reached USD 65 billion in 2021 and estimated to grow constantly within the near future. This is facilitated by several benefits it has over the rest.
Additionally, it can be forced through an extruder to produce various complicated designs and shapes that are decorative as well as functional in nature. It transfers heat well, increasing the thermal efficiency of structures.
The composite is, however, resilient enough to be blended with steel metallic elements of other materials so as to achieve a modus in the weight-strength relationship.This needs a new level in innovation, as you can see.
A new type of EGA aluminum we can’t do without: this is how it will serve us for renewables
Based on pure energy from the world’s biggest solar farm, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s, and Emirates Electricity Of Company Noor Abu Dhabi at Sweihan in 2021, there is an aluminum product CelestiAL by EGA.
What that meant was EGA being the first ever company in the world to produce it commercially under solar energy. Target markets of CelestiAL with no doubt include BMW Group, and Tier 1 suppliers to Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.
Consuming solar energy, EGA is decreasing carbon dioxide emission in their production. The CelestiAL operates using solar energy, and it is a novel method of attempting to de-carbonize the sector which EGA conducts.
It plays a key part in facilitating renewable energy options. One of the brilliant factors for using electric vehicles is that because it has a lightweight yet tough characteristic; this implies less weight which makes them more productive with regards to energy utilization.
It is also widely used in the wind turbines as well as solar panel frames and mounting systems. The metal possesses high strength-to-weight ratio hence making it suitable to wind turbine blades that capture more energy in the form of winds.
Manufacturers aiming for zero emissions despite coming from a petro-monarchy
For the very first time, an EGA (located in Dubai) has put a significant stress on elimination of emissions utilized for its production. The greenhouse gas emissions intensity of this company is nearly 35 % lower than the average in the industry.
This can be regarded as a milestone given the massive amounts of energy used in this very demanding form of material production. Emissions reductions are aimed at the fact that quite a number of initiatives implemented by EGA have been targeted.
These include leveraging clean energy options such as solar and ensuring efficiency in all its operations. For instance, EGA was the first firm globally to produce commercially using solar power.
The fact that EGA is the largest industrial company in UAE aside from oil and gas, this growth in their emissions’ direction deserves a mention. EGA’s goal is to reduce its carbon footprint with the target for 2050 of net zero.
Once again, we see how aluminum is vital for renewables, which shows how we still haven’t found a material that will really allow us to replace it. We have done so with concrete, cement, and brick, but we are not yet making progress with new metals. Will we manage to do so before 2030?