Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said 631 of the 1,262 aluminium reduction cells at its Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi, equivalent to 50%, have been rebuilt and restarted following the Iranian attack on March 28. The company continues to expect the plant to return to full production capacity in the first quarter of 2027.

The Al Taweelah complex in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) sustained significant damage during Iranian missile and drone attacks on March 28, 2026. The attack prompted a full evacuation of the complex and an emergency shutdown of its facilities.

According to a company statement issued on October 21, the first rebuilt reduction cell was restarted on May 26, and production recovery work is now under way simultaneously across all three potlines. The company said each cell typically takes about a week after restarting to stabilise and reach full production.

Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, chief executive of Emirates Global Aluminium, described the reconstruction of Al Taweelah as the biggest challenge in the company’s history, saying thousands of people were working around the clock to restore operations.

The emergency shutdown caused molten aluminium to solidify in all reduction cells, leaving blocks of solid metal weighing up to 45 tonnes. The company said nearly 80% of the cells can be restarted once these blocks are removed, while the remainder require repairs and relining. EGA has more than tripled its capacity to repair and restart cells.

EGA has also included a trial of its E40 technology in the reconstruction programme to upgrade 13 DX reduction cells. The company said deploying the technology across all 808 DX cells at the plant could increase annual molten aluminium production capacity by up to 67,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, the Al Taweelah alumina refinery, which is separate from the smelter, is operating at around 50% capacity. The timing of any production increase will depend on supply chain conditions.

The Al Taweelah smelter produced about 1.6 million tonnes of cast aluminium in 2025.