The first shipment of UAE-produced nuclear grade reinforcing steel, produced by Emirates Steel Industries PJSC was delivered to Barakah, the selected site of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program.

A delegation from Emirates Steel, led by Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Romaithi, Chief Executive Officer, was welcomed by Mohamed Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to commemorate this significant milestone in the construction of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program.

Emirates Steel is the only steelmaker in the MENA region qualified to supply Q-class (nuclear quality) reinforcing steel to the UAE nuclear energy program and the fourth company in the world to be qualified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to produce Nuclear Qualified reinforcing rebar.

Over a two-year period, ENEC’s Industrial Development Team, a workgroup created to upgrade the quality and technical standards of UAE companies to enable them to tender for contracts within the UAE’s nuclear energy program, collaborated with Emirates Steel to match its quality processes with the highest standards in the world and obtain ASME Material Organization certification.

"Emirates Steel has made a significant effort to match their quality infrastructure with the highest standards and we are pleased to be working with them," said Mohamed Al Hammadi, ENEC CEO.

"In the nuclear energy industry, there is no greater priority than safety. To ensure the highest standards of safety in all aspects of our construction and operations, every product and every component must be of the highest quality standards. In order to achieve this, every supplier is subject to an extensive evaluation and assessment," added Mr Al Hammadi.

"It took us more than two years to make the grade and to implement a nuclear quality system that would allow us to manufacture and supply nuclear quality products to the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program," said Engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Romaithi, Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Steel. "This system was only developed to supply products to nuclear projects and can only be activated for nuclear orders."

The nuclear grade steel is the highest quality class of steel required for nuclear safety related construction.  Reinforcing steel plays an important role in the safety and security of nuclear facilities. It is one of many physical safety and security design features that make nuclear energy plants amongst the strongest and most robust structures in the world.

"Public safety in nuclear power generation is the main concern of every operator and this is one reason why Emirates Steel adheres to every nuclear energy standard in production, safety, testing, inspections, and control of measurement devices. We are confident that our products conform to established safety standards," added Mr Al Romaithi.

Following the achievement of ASME certification, the first order of 45,000 tons of rebar, of which 5,000 tons are Q-class, has now been delivered to the project site at Barakah in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Further orders will be placed over the course of the next seven years as the construction of ENEC’s four nuclear energy plants progresses. Previously, the project received Q-class reinforcing steel from the Republic of Korea as no local manufacturers met the strict qualification criteria.

The reinforcing steel was tested by the ERICO International Corporation, a world leading manufacturer of engineered products designed for applications in the electrical, mechanical, commercial and industrial, rail and utility markets, to confirm that the steel is manufactured in accordance with American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards.

ENEC’s dedicated Industrial Development Team is working with KEPCO and UAE companies to ensure they meet strict quality and technical standards to tender for contracts to the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program. More than 200 UAE companies now supply products and services to the program; with more than US$1 billion in contracts awarded to local companies to date.

ENEC’s rigorous Quality Assurance program ensures the UAE’s first nuclear energy plants are designed, constructed, commissioned and operated in line with the best industry practices, governing codes and standards, as well as the strict regulations and license requirements outlined by the UAE’s independent nuclear energy regulatory body, the Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation (FANR).

Emirates Steel’s Nuclear Quality System was developed based on ASME NCA 3800 requirements with products complying with ASTM A615 Gr 60 and ASME CC 2300. Emirates Steel has also been awarded the certification to manufacture Grade B500B rebar and coil conforming to BS 4449:2005 by the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels (CARES).

Located in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Steel is the only integrated steel producer in the UAE and one of the largest integrated steel producers in the GCC. The 11 billion dirham (US$3 billion) steel complex utilises the latest rolling mill technology to produce reinforcing bars for the construction industry, in addition to structural steel and wire rods.

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