PHOTO
Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Switzerland-based Climeworks to study the development of a direct air capture (DAC) carbon removal project in Jubail Industrial City, the Saudi Ministry of Energy posted on X on Thursday.
Under the agreement, signed under the supervision of the Ministry of Energy, both parties will evaluate the feasibility of establishing a large-scale DAC facility, assess the requirements, and develop a partnership framework to support the project's implementation.
In July 2025, Climeworks had inaugurated a live demonstration of its Direct Air Capture (DAC) testing unit located within KAPSARC’s facilities in Riyadh to evaluate its performance under the region’s hot and arid conditions, and assess the potential to localise critical materials and components used in the equipment.
The DAC unit was part of a broader feasibility assessment launched under the Ministry of Energy, following a MOU signed between KAPSARC and Climeworks at the Saudi Green Initiative Forum in December 2024, the Swiss company had stated in a related press statement.
Aramco in partnership with Linde and SLB is building the Jubail Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) hub, which will capture and store up to 9 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year starting in 2027 in the first phase. Aramco’s share is due to be 6 million metric tonnes per year and the remaining 3 million metric tonnes will be from neighboring industrial emitters.
Saudi Arabia has set an ambitious target to capture and utilise up to 44 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2035 through the development of large-scale carbon capture hubs.
(Writing by Deva Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)
Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa.
