The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC),  the UAE nuclear power developer, said it has received the first shipment of locally–produced nuclear grade reinforcing steel from Emirates Steel Industries. 

 

Enec, which is working to deliver safe, clean, efficient and reliable nuclear energy to the UAE, said Emirates Steel is the only firm in the Mena region qualified to supply Q-class (nuclear quality) reinforcing steel to the UAE nuclear energy program .

 

It is also the fourth company in the world to be qualified by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) to produce Nuclear Qualified reinforcing rebar, said a statement from Emirates Steel.

 

The first shipment from Emirates Steel Industries was delivered to Barakah in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, the selected site of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program. 

 

A delegation from Emirates Steel, led by CEO Saeed Ghumran Al Romaithi was welcomed by Mohamed Al Hammadi, the Enec CEO to commemorate this significant milestone in the construction of the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program. 

 

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 Al Hammadi.

 

“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,” he added.

 

Al Romaithi said it took more than two years for Emirates Steel to make the grade and implement a nuclear quality system that would allow the company to manufacture and supply nuclear quality products to the UAE peaceful nuclear energy program.

 

“This system was only developed to supply products to nuclear projects and can only be activated for nuclear orders,” he added.

 

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.

 

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.

 

"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," he added.-TradeArabia News Service