Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) said on 21 October that 631 of the 1,262 reduction cells at its Al Taweelah aluminium smelter in Abu Dhabi had been repaired and restarted. The company described this as the halfway point in the restart programme. The cell count measures a physical recovery step, but each cell typically takes about a week after restart to stabilise. The figure should not be read as proof that current metal output or smelter capacity has reached exactly half of its normal level.

The smelter shut on 28 March after an attack on Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi led to the evacuation of the Al Taweelah site and an emergency halt to operations. EGA said the first repaired cell restarted on 26 May. At the end of August it reported 315 cells operating, about one-quarter of the total. The October update therefore records 316 additional cells restarted since that milestone. EGA has not published a daily or weekly restart series between the two announcements.

Repair teams are working across all three potlines in parallel. Molten aluminium froze inside cells during the emergency shutdown, leaving solid metal pads that had to be removed; EGA says these weighed up to 45 tonnes. The company estimates that about 80 per cent of cells can be restarted after the solid metal is cleared. The remainder need more extensive repair, demolition of the internal potlining and relining, depending on their condition and operating history. EGA says it has expanded its safe cell repair and restart capacity more than threefold compared with its normal maintenance programme.

EGA continues to target a return to full production at the smelter in the first quarter of 2027. That is a company target, not a measured forecast of current output; the October announcement does not provide a new capacity or production estimate. The separate Al Taweelah alumina refinery continues to operate at about 50 per cent capacity. EGA says it is technically ready to raise output, but timing depends on supply conditions and its alumina sourcing strategy. The company also says full refinery output is not a prerequisite for the smelter’s recovery.

EGA is also using the restoration period to pilot its E40 technology on 13 DX cells. It says the technology could be industrialised across 808 DX cells at the site; the company estimates that a full rollout could add 67,000 tonnes per year of production. That is a potential, not realised, increase. EGA’s first-half 2026 report shows the disruption in the group-wide results: cast metal output across its global operations fell to 1.006 million tonnes from 1.42 million tonnes a year earlier. That measure is not specific to Al Taweelah and should not be used as a reading of the site’s current production.