The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium (ICSOBA) has the great honour to announce the 41th International Conference and Exhibition of ICSOBA, that will take place in Dubai from 5 to 9 November 2023.
This will be the second time ICSOBA will take place Dubai and fifth time in the Middle East.
This year, ICSOBA will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
The conference is planned to allow hybrid audience, with the in-person part to be held in Dubai, UAE and the online part as real-time broadcasting for the delegates that cannot attend in-person. However, all ICSOBA presenters will travel to Dubai to deliver their presentation physically.
Organisation and conditions of ICSOBA 2023 exhibition will be released at a later stage.
We are very thankful to EGA to support the conference as the host sponsor.
Technical Program of ICSOBA 2023 will include:
Keynote presentations giving visitors insights of current technology and market trends in the field of primary aluminium;
3 days of Technical sessions (approximately 180 presentations);
A dedicated Alumina Properties for Smelting workshop is to be organized jointly by smelting and refining experts.
Technical tours of EGA’s smelter and Alumina refinery.
We look forward to seeing you all at ICSOBA-2023!
Conference topics
ICSOBA 2023 will explore the following key issues:
Sustainability and decarbonisation
Energy challenge
Bauxite deposits and mining
Alumina refining
Bauxite residue
Electrodes for aluminium electrolysis
Aluminium electrolysis
Smelter Casthouse Operation
New technologies
Greenfield and Brownfield activities
Success stories in projects implementation
Health, environment and safety
Market scenarios and economic outlook.
Primary focus is on sustainable development and reducing carbon footprint.
Do not miss the opportunity to interact with international experts, scientists, engineers, technology suppliers, equipment manufacturers and representatives of worldwide aluminium industry.
Conference Format
The hybrid format of the conference will enable your participation irrespectively if you travel to Dubai or must stay at home. The difference between on-site and online participation is:
On-site participants of the conference will be able to take full benefit of regular ICSOBA conference, including downloading the papers and presentations before the opening of the conference, participation in technical sessions, exhibition, field trips and social functions. Only on-site speakers will have the opportunity to present a paper. On-site participant will also be able to watch the recorded presentations “on demand” on the conference platform.
Online participants of the conference will be able to download the papers and presentations before the opening of the conference. They will be able to attend the presentations live in the scheduled sessions Dubai time as well as viewing the recorded presentations “on demand” on the conference platform.
Language
Papers and presentations will be in English. They will be published and downloadable from the ICSOBA website for the participants and ICSOBA corporate members. The papers will be indexed in platforms such as Google Scholar. The printed book of proceedings (TRAVAUX No. 52) will be sent as individual orders after the conference
Exhibition
The latest technologies, equipment and other devices for the aluminium industry will be exhibited during the conference.
Exhibitors will be able to upload the brochure and video on the Conference Application – Whova – which enables connection with on-site and online participants.
You can contact Bijoy Satpathy: bijoy.satpathy@icsoba.org for any information concerning the exhibition.
Please visit the ICSOBA website for regular updates. You can contact Bijoy Satpathy bijoy.satpathy@icsoba.org for any information concerning the exhibition.
Join the following companies in ICSOBA 2023 exhibition:
20th Street, Dubai Healthcare City, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Hyatt Regency Dubai Creek Heights hotel is located in Dubai Healthcare City, along the Dubai Creek and is easily accessible to all major points of interest in the city.
The two iconic towers offer 463 sleeping rooms across 34 floors overlooking the historic creek and city skyline and 3,200 square meters of meeting facilities along with an array of award-winning restaurants and other hotel facilities.
ICSOBA has made booking reservation at a preferential rate for a limited number of rooms in the hotel just for the conference participants.
Therefore, due to very high demand at this time of the year, if you want to stay in the conference hotel, you must make your booking as soon as possible. Use these hotel booking instructionsto make your discounted reservation. Please pay attention to payment procedure and cancellation policy presented there.
The hotel is located at walking distance (1.3 km) from Dubai Healthcare City Metro Station and it is only 5 km7.4km (9 minutes by car) away from Dubai’s DXB international airport.
Guests can get to the hotel/venue using city taxi or public transport. Besides, airport transfers are available from hotel staff upon request (for bookings made 24 hours prior to arrival/departure, charges apply).
Local participants coming by car will be able to park in the large parking in the basement of the hotel.
On 9th of November, the technical field trips will be organised by Emirates Global Aluminium. EGA is the world’s biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas. Participants will visit:
Al Taweelah alumina refinery– this world-class facility began production in 2019 and produced 2.43 million tonnes in 2022, meeting 47 per cent of EGA’s alumina needs
Al Taweelah smelterhas a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per year, from 1266 reduction cells using EGA technology. Potline 3 is the longest potline in the world.
ICSOBA 2023 Conference Programme
With 12 confirmed keynote speakers and over 180 technical paper abstracts received to date, ICSOBA 2023 is planned as 3-days technical conference arranged in 4 streams with one full day for technical field trips.
Sunday 5 November pm – registration, welcome reception,
Monday 6 to Wednesday 8 November – technical sessions,
Tuesday 7 November – Gala Dinner and ICSOBA 60 years celebration,
Executive Vice President, Midstream, Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Biography
Sergey Akhmetov has dedicated his professional career to Aluminium, working in the industry from 2001 and more than decade in EGA.
During his career he enjoyed developing new technologies and optimizing reduction processes by leading research and development teams, making industrial implementation of developed technologies, and maximize efficiency of plants with operational teams.
Sergey led JA Reduction team since 2014 and EGA Reduction since 2016. He is currently holding the position of Executive Vice President, Midstream from 2020, leading the Midstream Team of the EGA overseeing the Operations and a Member of the Executive Committee.
He has graduated from Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold with two degrees: Metallurgical engineer/Alumina and Aluminium production and Economist/Management of organization. He has covered executive leadership courses in INSEAD and London Business School.
Stephan Broek is the president and principle of Kensington Technology Inc., a boutique consulting firm mainly focused on the primary aluminium industry. He has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Applied sciences in Amsterdam, with a postgraduate diploma in Process Technology from Twente University in Enschede, The Netherlands. For twelve years, he worked at Tata Steel Europe in the engineering group of Danieli Corus. In 2003, Stephan joined Hatch in Mississauga, Canada, where he worked on commercialization and development of technologies. After that he worked for more than twelve years in the COE for the global aluminium industry where he is recognized for his know-how in environmental engineering and technologies. He was also actively working on smelter feasibility studies and project management, including the rebuild of potline 2 at PT INALUM. In 2021, he joined Boston Metal to provide leadership in the industrial development and deployment of inert anode technology for metal production. In 2023 he returned to Canada and founded Kensington Technology Inc. to work on different projects for which he is most passionate about: the primary aluminium industry.
Stephan has co-authored over 40 articles and papers and is a regular speaker at international conferences. He is the current chair of the TMS Aluminium Committee and in 2023 he published the Light Metals proceedings. Stephan also shares his knowledge within our industry. He created and lectured in several short training courses, contributes to the Trondheim course, and is a lead instructor and organizer of the Potline Scrubber & Fugitive Emissions (PFSE) industrial training course that is part of professional development by TMS.
Markus Balz
Chief Technology Officer, GlassPoint, Inc., New York, USA
Biography
Markus leads the technology development of GlassPoint solar systems, supported by a team of experts he is setting the scene for technology innovation to minimize cost, increase performance and minimize Co2 emissions. Markus is well-known in the industry for decades of solar innovation, winning nearly a dozen awards over his career for engineering performance and designing cutting-edge technology. His expertise ranges from the technical aspects of designing solar technologies to the actual manufacturing and construction processes required to scale solutions internationally. Managing projects in over 25 countries he was actively involved in the development and construction of more than 1.4 GWth in CSP solar fields in 4 continents. He enjoys the most when innovation, courage, vision and teamwork lead to sustainable solution.
Paul-Antoine Calandreau
Director Industry 4.0, Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Biography
Paul-Antoine Calandreau is the Director for Industry 4.0 at EGA since one and a half year. Most of his career to date has been in the aerospace industry with a strong track record on leading digital transformation in the industrial context. Combining the best of technologies, processes and ways of working for value is what underlies all positions held by Paul-Antoine at Airbus and now at EGA.
Anthony Everiss
Senior Analyst, Aluminium Raw Materials, CRU, London, United Kingdom
Biography
Anthony Everiss is a Senior Analyst in the Aluminium Raw Materials team at CRU, and is editor of the Bauxite and Alumina Monitor, Bauxite and Alumina Market Outlook, and Bauxite and Alumina Long Term Market Outlook. Anthony's main areas of specialism include bauxite and alumina price forecasting and market fundamental analysis, and he has developed expertise across the aluminium value chain. Anthony joined CRU in 2011 after achieving a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of Warwick.
Martin Iffert
Co-Founder & CEO, EP Energy Pool, Martin Iffert Consulting GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Biography
Dr. Martin Iffert is an expert in the metals and energy sector with extensive experience in the aluminium industry. He worked for TRIMET for over 25 years, holding various management positions, including CEO, from 2011 until 2018. During this time, he achieved significant milestones, such as expanding electrolysis production in Essen and taking over smelters in St-Jean-de-Maurienne and Voerde. He is also known for developing the "Virtual Battery Concept" for aluminium smelters to enable flexibility in the energy transition. Since 2019, he has started MARTIN IFFERT CONSULTING GmbH and EP ENERGY POOL GmbH, which focus on consultancy services and deploying flexibility solutions and software tools to the energy-intensive industry and utilities.
Iffert has advised leading primary and secondary aluminium producers and private equity firms in operation and on due diligence processes. He has a strong focus on decarbonization strategies for the metals, battery, and energy industries worldwide. He holds a PhD in chemical engineering from UNSW in Sydney, Australia, an MBA from IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a Master’s in electrical engineering from RWTH Aachen, Germany.
Halvor Kvande
Retired / Professor, Hydro Aluminium, Oslo, Norway / Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Biography
Halvor Kvande received his PhD in 1972 from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and in 1979 he defended his thesis for the Norwegian degree of Dr. Techn. from the same university. He started his industrial career with Hydro Aluminum in 1980. His major field of interest has been research and development on the Hall-Héroult process for primary production of aluminium. From 1990 to 2005, and from 2012 to 2014, he also served as an adjunct professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. From 2009 to 2011 he was professor and Qatalum Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Qatar University in Doha, Qatar. In 2012 he retired from his position as chief engineer at Norsk Hydro in Oslo, Norway. Halvor Kvande is the author or co-author of about 180 scientific and technical papers, as well as five books on aluminium electrolysis and related topics. His research work has been appraised in the form of several TMS awards and honors including his contribution as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Stephen J. Lindsay
Retired senior technical specialist from Alcoa, Smelting specialist consultant with Hatch, Hatch, Maryville, USA
Biography
Stephen J. Lindsay retired from Alcoa after almost 40 years of service. He has published more than three dozen articles and technical papers, holds two patents and has contributed a chapter on alumina quality to the recent book, Smelter Grade Alumina from Bauxite. He is currently working as a part-time technical specialist, consulting to the primary aluminium industry. One of his areas of specialization has been SGA quality from the users point of view.
Jerome Lucaes
CEO, FAST FORWARD ZERO, Zurich, Switzerland
Biography
Jerome Lucaes is the CEO of FAST FORWARD ZERO.
FFZero advises business leaders, investors and funds to transform to net zero carbon, circular and fair models. Among other activities Jerome currently acts as a senior advisor for the IAI and for several aluminium producers.Jerome has over 25 years of world-leading experience in the various sectors, including 20 in the aluminium industry both upstream and downstream, having worked for Pechiney, Alcan (now Constellium), Rio Tinto and RUSAL. articulating business functions having a climate and sustainability impact.
Jerome has an impressive track record with few world premieres. Notably, he co-created the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative in 2011. At Rio Tinto he initiated the first low carbon partnership with key customers like Apple. For EN+ and RUSAL, he created the first low carbon aluminium brand, ALLOW, (which reached 3 Bn of $ sales within 4 years), and he prepared the first corporate commitment to net zero carbon (in Jan 2020), at that time it was the first commitment across the mining and metal sector.
Uday Patel
Senior Research Manager, Global Aluminium Markets, Wood Mackenzie, London, United Kingdom
Biography
Uday Patel has over 30 years of experience in the metals and mining sector covering Aluminium and other metals. He joined Wood Mackenzie in 2014 and is Senior Research Manager, Global Aluminium Markets. His industry experience includes Outokumpu, Ma’aden Saudi Arabia, DUBAL where he contributed to the startup of EMAL phases 1 and 2. During his career he has also worked on a range of projects across the entire aluminium value chain, including detailed market studies, cost analyses and strategic advisory work for clients including rolled producers, aluminium processing companies and financial organizations. Uday is a graduate of the London Business School’s executive management programme, Sussex University and the University of Exeter.
Miles Prosser
Secretary General, International Aluminium Institute, London, United Kingdom
Biography
Miles Prosser is the Secretary General of the International Aluminium Institute (IAI), the only body that represents the aluminium industry at the global level. With more than twenty years’ experience working on various industry policy issues, Miles brings in-depth knowledge on resource allocation, sustainability and climate change.
Miles joined the IAI from the Australian Aluminium Council, where he served as Executive Director for more than ten years. He leads the IAI to promote the unique and valuable properties of aluminium in sustainable development. He holds an honours degree from the Australian National University. He is a member of the Institute of Directors in London.
Jörg Rüster
Director - Technical, ATA Technical Upstream, Emirates Global Aluminium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Biography
Jörg Rüster is an expert in the alumina and mining industry with over 25 years of experience. He has worked as the Director Technical for Al Taweelah alumina refinery at Emirates Global Aluminium for almost nine years. He started his career at the Aluminium Oxid Stade GmbH, Germany, in various technical and operational roles before joining Rio Tinto in Australia as Principal Advisor for the Queensland alumina refineries.
At EGA he has successfully started up the greenfield Al Taweelah alumina refinery including all operational readiness activities and has helped to rapidly-progress the refinery into a stable operation delivering world class alumina as a member of the senior executive leadership team.
Jörg has a strong background with a track record of technical and operational improvements, innovation and operational excellence as well as major project development. Recently the decarbonization activities within the Al Taweelah alumina refinery have become part of his portfolio.
He holds a Master degree (Dipl-Ing.) in chemical and process engineering from the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Germany.
Sandy Sutherland
Senior Vice President Strategy, Energy & Sourcing, Norsk Hydro, Cully, Vaud, Switzerland
Biography
Sandy Sutherland joined the Aluminium industry in 2001 at Alcoa’s operations in Western Australia. Since that time, he has held many roles in the industry covering the value chain from Bauxite all the way to Extrusions. In his current position as SVP of Strategy, Energy & Sourcing for Norsk Hydro’s Bauxite and Alumina operations in Brazil, he is responsible for an aggressive decarbonization program. The goal is to transform Alunorte, the largest Alumina refinery in the world, to deliver the lowest emissions smelter grade alumina globally by 2025.
Nitin Tiwari
Chief Operating Officer – Metal, Vedanta Limited, Jharsuguda, Odisha, India
Biography
Nitin Tiwari pursued MBA in Marketing and HR from Nagpur University in 2004.
BE in Chemical Engineering from NIT Raipur in 2002.
Result Oriented professional with Over 21 years of experience and proven track record of driving excellence and steering the 1.8 million tonnes aluminium business, including Operations, Planning and Waste management, commercial, and logistics with a strong focus on Quality, innovation and HSE.
Committed to fostering a culture of innovation, Continuous improvement, and Customer satisfaction to achieve sustainable growth, Operational efficiency, and exceed organizational goals in a dynamic and competitive market.
Companies that have submitted technical papers for ICSOBA 2023
ICSOBA 2023 2nd Circular and Final Program - Documents for Print
2nd Circular of ICSOBA 2023 covers the following new information: Final Program at a glance, Dract Speaker Program, Keynote Speakers update and IAI BAC meeting.
This final conference program was issued on 16 October and is no longer updated. For last update, please refer to ICSOBA 2023 Conference Program above.
Guidelines and templates for papers and presentations
It wouldn’t be possible to organize the event without the strong support of our sponsors. Please pay tribute to their continuous support to ICSOBA by visiting their websites:
Bauxite & Alumina Committee meeting and Workshop on decarbonisation in refining will be held by International Aluminium Institute (IAI) on 5 November before the ICSOBA 2023.
To register (if an IAI member organization), please contact
Carl Firman
Program Manager Sustainability (Bauxite & Alumina)
The International Aluminium Institute (IAI) is the only body representing the global primary aluminium industry. The IAI was established in 1972. Current IAI membership includes global bauxite, alumina and aluminium companies in all the major producing regions. Please visit the IAI site for more details https://international-aluminium.org/
Over last 60 years ICSOBA has developed into the most advanced technical forum for our global industry, with high quality technical papers and collaborative discussion between experts from around the world. I am honored to serve as President for 2023, when ICSOBA will take place in Dubai – one of the world’s leading cities, including in aluminium. 2023 is the Year of Sustainability in the United Arab Emirates. I welcome the global aluminium industry to Dubai to make new progress in how we all contribute to the development of a more sustainable society.
Executive Vice President Midstream, Emirates Global Aluminium
Biography
Sergey Akhmetov has dedicated his professional career to Aluminium, working in the industry from 2001 and more than decade in EGA. During his career he enjoyed developing new technologies and optimizing reduction processes by leading research and development teams, making industrial implementation of developed technologies, and maximize efficiency of plants with operational teams. Sergey led JA Reduction team since 2014 and EGA Reduction since 2016. He is currently holding the position of Executive Vice President, Midstream from 2020, leading the Midstream Team of the EGA overseeing the Operations and a Member of the Executive Committee. He has graduated from Krasnoyarsk State Academy of Non-Ferrous Metals and Gold with two degrees: Metallurgical engineer/Alumina and Aluminium production and Economist/Management of organization. He has covered executive leadership courses in INSEAD and London Business School.
About the Host Sponsor
EGA is the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer and the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas.
Together, we innovate aluminium to make modern life possible.
We operate aluminium smelters in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, an alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, and a bauxite mine and associated export facilities in the Republic of Guinea.
Aluminium is among the world’s most versatile metals, and our global customers transform it into products that make modern life possible – from smartphones and building materials to food packaging and car parts.
Our aluminium is the biggest made-in-the-UAE export after oil and gas, bringing in billions of dollars of export revenue each year contributing to the diversification of the national economy.
Four per cent of the world’s aluminium production or almost half of the aluminium produced in the Gulf Cooperation Council, is made by us. That means approximately one in every 25 tonnes of aluminium is UAE-made.
Our development since the 1970s has taken the UAE from no aluminium production to the fifth largest aluminium-producing country in the world.
Our homegrown technology enables us to be cost competitive and environmentally responsible while meeting our customers’ and society’s needs.
EGA is owned equally by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai. It is the largest company jointly owned by the two Emirates.
As you well know, organizing such conference would simply not be possible without the strong support of our Conference Sponsors.
ICSOBA conference, “The technology Conference of the Aluminium Industry, for the Aluminium Industry”, gives opportunity to your Company to maximize its exposure to the primary aluminium decision makers and influencing technologists.
Please consult the Sponsors Fees and Benefit table which illustrates the different options for on-site benefit but also through the Whova application, which will be used both by the on-site and the online delegates.
If you are willing to support ICSOBA activities and to showcase your Company at ICSOBA 2023, feel free to contact marc.dupuis@icsoba.org for any further information.
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