Energy giant Aramco, and ENOWA, NEOM’s energy and water company, will work together to develop the first-of-its-kind synthetic electro fuel (e-fuel) demonstration plant.
The plant will be located in ENOWA’s Hydrogen Innovation and Development Center (HIDC) with an aim to demonstrate technical feasibility and commercial viability by producing 35 barrels per day of low-carbon, synthetic gasoline from renewable-based hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide.
The e-fuel technology is built on a circular carbon economy approach and has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by over 70% on a complete life cycle basis, compared to conventional fuels.
“Once complete, the integrated facility will generate 12 tons of synthetic methanol per day from green hydrogen and CO2, using proprietary technologies developed by ThyssenKrupp Uhde. The synthetic methanol will then be converted into low-carbon gasoline using ExxonMobil’s Fluidized-Bed Methanol-to-Gasoline (MtG) technology,” the company said in a statement.
The HIDC will also produce green hydrogen by leveraging an on-site 20-megawatt electrolyzer, a technology powered by renewable energy sources.
The innovation center being created by ENOWA will showcase the region’s vast potential to generate and use wind and solar power commercially.
“Synthetic fuels can play an important role to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global vehicle fleet. We are excited to be working alongside our partners to demonstrate a potential path towards realizing this vision,” said Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter, Aramco Executive Vice President of Technology & Innovation.
