Aramco launches its first carbon capture facility

• Siemens joint venture
• Curbing CO2 emissions
• Reducing Greenhouse gases

Saudi Aramco has launched its first facility to remove carbon dioxide (CO2)  from the air in a joint venture with Siemens.

This is the company’s first direct air capture (DAC) facility as it seeks to curb CO2 emissions.

The facility, a pilot project developed with Siemens Energy, is designed to remove 12 tonnes of CO2 annually from the atmosphere.

“In addition to helping address emissions, the CO2 … can in turn be used to produce more sustainable chemicals and fuels,” Ali A. Al-Meshari, Aramco’s senior vice president of technology oversight and coordination, said in a press statement on Friday.

DAC uses chemical processes to capture CO2 from the ambient air and convert it into solid or liquid form to be stored underground, offering a potential solution for reducing greenhouse gases.

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First announced in 2023, the plan is to scale up the unit to be able to capture 1,250 tonnes of CO2 per year. 

The technology is still in its early stages, with questions over cost and scalability. Aramco views it as part of its long-term decarbonisation strategy and aims to develop materials and processes for future commercial deployment.

In December, Aramco partnered with SLB of US and the UK’s Linde to build a carbon capture and storage hub in Jubail in the Eastern province, aiming to capture up to 9 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2027.

Saudi Arabia has a target for net-zero by 2060.