Removing CO₂ emissions from the atmosphere will be critical to meeting global net-zero targets. According to the World Economic Forum, scientists predict that up to 10 Gt CO₂ will need to be removed annually from the atmosphere by 2050 — and that volume will have to double by 2100.

This is clearly a challenge, but also an opportunity. By capturing and separating the hydrogen and carbon in hydrocarbons, we aim to provide valuable feedstocks that can potentially contribute in the production of lower carbon products such as synthetic fuels, chemicals, fertilizer, power generation, and heat.

For that to happen, carbon dioxide needs to be captured at scale. There are two main ways to do that – carbon capture and storage (CCS) from industrial facilities and direct air capture (DAC), which takes CO2 directly from the atmosphere. At Aramco, we are advancing on both fronts by building one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage hubs and have just commissioned our first DAC pilot plant, the first step towards our ambitions in scaling up this emerging sector.

BUILDING A CCS INDUSTRY AT SCALE

Aramco has taken an important step forward in capturing CO₂ at scale by signing a shareholders’ agreement with Linde and SLB that kickstarts work on a carbon capture and storage hub in Jubail, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia (MEES, 6 December 2024).

Phase one of the hub aims to capture and store 9 Mt of CO₂ emissions a year from three Aramco gas plants and other industrial sources, contributing to Aramco’s ambition of achieving net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across the company’s wholly-owned operated assets by 2050.

We plan to dehydrate and compress the CO₂, before transporting it by pipeline to be stored underground in onshore saline aquifers, geological formations of porous rocks that are saturated with salt water or brine.

NURTURING AN EMERGING CARBON REMOVAL TECHNOLOGY

While capturing carbon emissions at “point sources” such as industrial facilities and hydrocarbon processing plants is the most cost-effective way to reduce CO₂ emissions, other options are required. Direct air capture (DAC), a process that uses specially-created materials to capture and remove CO₂ directly from the atmosphere, is one area that offers great potential. However, with atmospheric CO₂ concentrations of only around 426 parts per million, capturing CO₂ molecules from the air is much more challenging than point source capture. This is an emerging technology, with only few commercial-scale plants in operation globally. At present, costs remain prohibitively high – approximately $1,000 per ton – highlighting the challenge of achieving economic scale.

As this technology advances, it will also require renewable energy capacity to grow alongside it. DAC facilities are energy-intensive, and to maximize their emission-reduction potential, they are best supported by zero-emission power sources – such as solar, wind, or lower-carbon process heat.

Nonetheless, the sector is scaling up, and Aramco is working to help cut the cost of the technology and bring DAC into the mainstream. Earlier this year we commissioned a DAC plant in Dhahran that can capture 12 tons of CO₂ a year (MEES, 21 March). Once the capture cost is lowered at scale, we intend to roll out commercial plants that can potentially remove CO₂ at a lower cost.

A KEY ENABLER FOR SYNTHETIC FUELS

Some captured CO₂ has the potential to be used to make products such as plastics and chemicals (MEES, 11 September 2020), while the CCS process also supports the production of blue hydrogen. This hydrogen can be used to produce power in fuel cells, and it can also be combined with nitrogen to make blue ammonia for use in fertilizer, power generation, or fuel (in shipping, for example).

Growth of DAC may also have positive implications for the emergence of synthetic fuels, which can help reduce carbon emissions in heavy transport such as trucking, shipping, and aviation. These fuels have the potential to use existing refueling facilities, be a “drop-in” replacement for conventional fuels, and are produced using renewable hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

Many DAC sites will likely be built close to synthetic fuel production facilities, such as a pilot plant currently being developed by Aramco and ENOWA at NEOM, in northwest Saudi Arabia. Aramco is also collaborating with energy and petrochemical company Repsol on a synthetic fuel facility in Bilbao, Spain, that aims to produce low-carbon fuel.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES VITAL TO MEETING OUR TARGETS

While Aramco is investing in new and emerging technologies with ambitions to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse emissions, the company is also exploring multiple ways to provide its customers with lower-emission solutions that can potentially help in their strategies to reduce carbon emissions. Both CCS and DAC are key components of this strategy, paving the way for not only capturing CO₂ — but also harnessing the value of carbon dioxide as a resource that can positively contribute to addressing climate challenges.

This reflects our interdisciplinary approach to innovative and cost-effective solutions for carbon management, and we are invested in a future that requires a careful balance between energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability to support societal growth and prosperity.

*Ali A. Al Meshari is Aramco Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight & Coordination