Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has agreed to develop a synthetic electro-fuel demonstration plant in the Kingdom with ENOWA, NEOM's energy and water firm. The collaborative development agreement was inked in Riyadh as part of the Future Investment Initiative. ENOWA's Hydrogen Innovation and Development Center will house the plant. As part of the agreement, NEOM will oversee the building of the facility, while Aramco and ENOWA will manage operations and invest in key research projects jointly.
The primary aim of this initiative is to showcase the technical feasibility and commercial viability by producing 35 barrels per day of low-carbon synthetic gasoline using renewable-based hydrogen and capture of carbon dioxide, as per arab news.
Ahmad Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s executive vice president for technology and innovation, said: “Synthetic fuels can play an important role to accelerate the decarbonization of the global vehicle fleet. We are excited to be working alongside our partners to demonstrate a potential path toward realizing this vision.”
Based on a circular carbon economy strategy, e-fuel technology has the potential to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 70% during its full life cycle when compared to traditional fuels.
The integrated factory, when completed, is intended to produce 12 tons of synthetic methanol per day from green hydrogen and carbon dioxide. This synthetic methanol will then be transformed into low-carbon gasoline using ExxonMobil's Fluidized-Bed Methanol-to-Gasoline technology.
Peter Terium, CEO of ENOWA, said: “This partnership represents another significant milestone for ENOWA. As Saudi Arabia cements its global leadership role in a circular carbon economy driven by green hydrogen, we have an unprecedented opportunity to showcase the transformative capabilities of pioneering, sustainable technologies.”