Saudi Arabia’s Aramco recently announced the signing of three memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with leading U.S. companies to develop lower-carbon energy solutions. During the U.S. secretary of energy Jennifer Granholm’s visit to the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have bolstered their ties in multiple fields, with energy being the most prominent area of cooperation.
Aramco signed the three agreements with the U.S. companies in the presence of Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, minister of energy, and Secretary Granholm.
Deploying Aeroseal’s technology
The first U.S. company Aramco inked an agreement with is Aeroseal. The MoU with the company follows the successful trial of Aeroseal’s technology in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, Aramco and Aeroseal agreed to further explore opportunities to accelerate the deployment of Aeroseal’s technology. Moreover, the companies will jointly test building ductwork and envelopes nationwide to uncover the most prominent opportunities. Furthermore, they will commercialize the technology in new applications such as gas pipelines and localize Aeroseal’s supply chain in Saudi Arabia.
Enhancing direct air capture
Aramco inked a second agreement with U.S. company Spiritus. Under the agreement, the two entities will explore opportunities in the field of direct air capture. Spiritus has worked on a new approach in direct air capture, which could address major cost challenges. This includes reducing energy needs and passive air collection. Moreover, it includes a proprietary sorbent material to potentially remove carbon from the atmosphere 10 times more efficiently than current methods.
“Aramco has stated its ambition to achieve net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by 2050,” commented Ali A. Al-Meshari, senior vice president of technology, oversight & coordination, Aramco.
Read: Saudi Arabia, U.S. forge roadmap for cooperation in energy with focus on sustainability
Deploying heat batteries
Finally, Aramco inked an agreement with the U.S. company Rondo to explore the use of heat batteries in Aramco’s global facilities. This reduces the company’s operating costs and supports the initiatives Aramco is taking to reduce emissions. Both companies have already started exploring the first industrial-scale deployment of Rondo heat batteries. This will contribute to the reduction of emissions from the oil company’s facilities, with subsequent scale-up to 1GWh.
“We see the technologies of Aeroseal, Spiritus’, and Rondo to have the potential to scale globally, and specifically in the Middle East,” added Al-Meshari.
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