Saudi Aramco outlined plans to invest in blue hydrogen and have a large share of the market of around $1 billion on capturing carbon for every 1 million tons of blue ammonia produced.
That would exclude the expense of producing the gas, Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, Aramco’s Chief Technology Officer, told Bloomberg.
“I would say the scale-up isn’t going to happen before 2030,” he added.
Still, he emphasized that costs for producing blue hydrogen are probably around one-fifth of those of green hydrogen, at least at today’s solar and wind prices.
Aramco needs to make deals with buyers before investments in blue hydrogen can begin properly, said Khowaiter.
“From the time you make clear off-take agreements, you’re talking about a five- to six-year capital cycle to invest in the production and conversion requirements,” he added. “You’re talking about a pretty long-time scale.”
Aramco overcame challenges associated with the shipping of blue ammonia to Japan for use in power plants, with 30 tons of CO2 captured during the process designated for use in methanol production at SABIC’s Ibn-Sina facility and another 20 tons of captured CO2 being used for Enhanced Oil Recovery at Aramco’s Uthmaniyah field.
This milestone highlights one of several pathways within the concept of a global Circular Carbon Economy, a framework in which CO2 emissions are reduced, removed, recycled and reused - as opposed to being released into the atmosphere.
“The use of hydrogen is expected to grow in the global energy system, and this world’s first demonstration represents an exciting opportunity for Aramco to showcase the potential of hydrocarbons as a reliable and affordable source of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia,” Khowaiter said.
“This milestone also highlights a successful transnational, multi-industry partnership between Saudi Arabia and Japan. Multinational partnerships are key in realizing the Circular Carbon Economy, championed by the Saudi Arabian G20 Presidency,” he remarked.
