Energy and chemicals leader Aramco has launched Saudi Arabia’s first carbon dioxide direct air capture (DAC) test unit, capable of removing 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from the atmosphere.
The pilot plant, developed in collaboration with Siemens Energy, is a significant step in the company’s efforts to expand on its DAC capabilities.
Aramco intends to use the facility as a testing platform for next-generation CO2 capture materials in Saudi Arabia’s distinct desert climate.
It will also seek to achieve cost reductions that could help accelerate the deployment of DAC technologies in the region.
Aramco and Siemens Energy intend to continue working closely together with the aim of scaling up the technology, potentially laying the foundations for large-scale DAC facilities in the future.
Ali A. Al-Meshari, Aramco Senior Vice-President of Technology Oversight and Coordination, said technologies that directly capture CO2 from the air would likely play an important role in reducing gas emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, and be repurposed for other uses.
“The test facility launched by Aramco is a key step in our efforts to scale up viable DAC systems, for deployment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and beyond,” he said. “In addition to helping address emissions, the CO2 extracted through this process can in turn be used to produce more sustainable chemicals and fuels.”
Carbon capture and storage represents a key pillar in the company’s ambition to achieve Net Zero and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly owned operated assets by 2050.
The energy giant is exploring options to capture CO2 both at the point of emissions and directly from the atmosphere.
The launch of the DAC test facility follows the December 2024 announcement that Aramco and its partners, Linde and SLB, had signed a shareholders’ agreement that paves the way for the development of a CCS hub in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.
Phase one of the CCS hub will have the capacity to capture nine million tonnes of CO2 from three Aramco gas plants and other industrial sources.
