Aramco opens research hub for ‘developing low-carbon solutions’

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (“Aramco”) opened the Aramco Research Center at KAUST (ARC KAUST), which intends to speed the development of low-carbon solutions for the energy market via the use of sophisticated analytics. This comes after Saudi Aramco pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, a decade sooner than a government timetable for the kingdom.

The pledge is equivalent to those of European energy companies such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc, and it places Aramco ahead of US businesses Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. Saudi Arabia plans to produce 29 million tonnes of blue and green hydrogen annually by 2030, according to Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

The newly formed research cluster, strategically positioned inside King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to explore novel approaches to enhance low-carbon solutions and allow a Circular Carbon Economy. Researchers, engineers, and scientists at ARC KAUST want to create new technologies in carbon capture, low-carbon hydrogen/ammonia, non-metallics, e-fuels, liquid-to-chemicals, and advanced transportation.

The center’s launch marks a key milestone in Aramco’s expansion, providing unique partnership possibilities to exploit KAUST’s expertise in fields like as supercomputing and data analytics.

Aramco Senior Vice President Upstream Nasir K. Al-Naimi, KAUST Vice President of Innovation and Economic Development Dr. Kevin Cullen, and senior executives from SABIC, Dow, and PetroRabigh attended the inaugural event.

Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco Chief Technology Officer, said: “The Aramco Research Center at KAUST offers a unique opportunity to strengthen our collaboration with KAUST and accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies that will contribute to a low-carbon future. Today energy companies face the dual challenge of delivering sustainability and reliability. The critical research undertaken at this new facility will help us meet our obligations to customers and energy consumers worldwide, while also supporting our ambition of reaching operational net-zero emissions by 2050.”