MA'ADEN, Glasspoint to Develop Largest Solar Process Steam Plant

MA'ADEN, Saudi Arabia's national mining champion and one of the world's fastest-growing mining firms, has signed a memorandum of understanding with GlassPoint, the pioneer in industrial solar steam, to build the world's largest solar process heat plant at MA'ADEN's Alumina refinery.

The 1,500 MW solar steam facility will help MA'ADEN meet its sustainability targets by lowering carbon emissions by over 600,000 tonnes per year once it is completed. It is a more than 50% reduction in MA'ADEN's Alumina refinery's carbon footprint and 4% of MA'ADEN's overall carbon footprint.

The MOU was signed at MA’ADEN HQ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by Riyadh Al Nassar, senior vice president of MA’ADEN’s aluminium business, and Rod MacGregor, CEO and founder of GlassPoint, and witnessed by Robert Wilt, CEO of MA'ADEN, and Jacob Drejer, CCO of GlassPoint.

MA'ADEN and GlassPoint will collaborate to develop a more environmentally friendly way to produce aluminium, which is a critical metal for many global sectors and the energy transition. GlassPoint's reemergence as a leader in solar process heat is also reflected in this MOU.

Saudi Arabia is committed to advancing the fight against climate change as a global energy producer. The Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) was launched by the Kingdom to help the country become a global leader in sustainability. Last year, the SGI announced the launch of the first wave of more than 60 programmes totalling SAR 700 billion ($186 billion) in investments to drive the green economy in Saudi Arabia and worldwide.

Robert Wilt, CEO of MA'ADEN, said:

“As the third pillar of the Saudi economy, we aspire to be a role model in ESG in the Kingdom. This significant development will dramatically reduce our carbon footprint and bring us closer to our mandate of carbon neutrality by 2050. As the world moves towards green aluminium, MA’ADEN intends to help lead the way in this transition.”

Riyadh Al Nassar, SVP Aluminium SBU of MA’ADEN, commented:

“The proposed new facility, a solar thermal plant known as MA’ADEN Solar 1, will be located in Ras al Khair, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and will harness the power of the sun to produce steam. The steam will be used to refine bauxite ore into alumina. Alumina is a critical feedstock to Aluminium, which is one of the world’s most crucial metals for many global industries going into a future that is focused on the environment and sustainability.”

Source: Glasspoint

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