On Monday, Saudi Aramco announced its intention to sign an engineering agreement with the leading Danish company, Topsøe, specializing in energy efficiency technologies for building a low-carbon hydrogen pilot plant in the Shaybah area of the Kingdom.
Aramco stated that the plant would utilize renewable electricity in the electric steam methane reforming (ESMR) process of hydrocarbon materials to produce low-carbon hydrogen.
This hydrogen can be used for power generation, with the added benefit of extracting and capturing the resulting carbon dioxide emissions.
The Saudi energy giant explained that this project, which will have a daily production capacity of six tons of hydrogen, paves the way for a larger pilot plant capable of capturing nearly 1,250 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Furthermore, Aramco is collaborating with Siemens Energy to develop a direct air capture unit in Dhahran, with a potential capacity of capturing up to 12 tons of carbon dioxide annually, expected to be completed by 2024.
Aramco also announced a successful test of a new technology for carbon dioxide capture using local mineralization.
This method involves dissolving carbon dioxide in water and injecting it into volcanic rocks in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
In addition to these initiatives, Aramco is exploring the expansion of its renewable energy portfolio by tapping into geothermal energy.
The company has identified three potential areas on the Kingdom’s western coast for geothermal energy projects.
These endeavors align with Aramco’s commitment to sustainability and its efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
