Saudi Aramco launches direct air capture pilot project in decarbonisation push

Saudi Aramco and Siemens Energy will continue working closely together with the aim of scaling up directly capture-carbon technology. Reuters

Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporting company, has launched a pilot direct air capture unit, which can remove 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere, as it seeks to contribute to global emissions reduction efforts.

The plant, developed in partnership with Siemens Energy, is the kingdom's first carbon dioxide direct air capture (DAC) unit and will be used as a testing platform for “next-generation CO2 capture materials”, Aramco said in a statement on Thursday.

Unlike traditional carbon capture, which targets carbon dioxide from point sources such as power plant emissions, DAC units are designed to capture CO2 molecules dispersed throughout the atmosphere.

“Technologies that directly capture carbon dioxide from the air will likely play an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions moving forward, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors,” said Ali Al Meshari, Aramco's senior vice president of technology oversight and co-ordination.

“The test facility launched by Aramco is a key step in our efforts to scale up viable DAC systems, for deployment in the kingdom … and beyond."

Aramco and Siemens Energy will continue working closely together with the aim of scaling up the technology, potentially setting the stage for “large-scale” DAC projects in the future, the Saudi company said.

The oil company plans to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its assets by 2050.

The DAC test facility launch comes after Aramco and its partners, Linde and SLB, announced in December a shareholders’ agreement to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) hub in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

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The first phase of the CCS hub is designed to capture nine million tonnes of CO2 from three Aramco gas plants and various industrial sources.

In addition to Aramco, major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) are investing in DAC projects to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve net-zero commitments.

Oxy is building the world's largest DAC plant in Texas, US, which will be able to capture up to 500,000 tonnes of CO2 annually when fully operational this year.

At the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this month, Aramco chief Amin Nasser expressed doubt about current energy transition plans, saying there was a greater chance of the late musician Elvis Presley making an appearance than the plan proving a success.

Mr Nasser said about $10 billion in transition spending in the past 20 years featured promises of cheaper and more sustainable energy that were “impossible to keep”. He said it would cost an estimated $6 trillion to $8 trillion annually to fund climate action properly.

“It has been a painful awakening for those who thought energy affordability and security could be taken for granted,” Mr Nasser added.