ADNOC and climate technology company 44.01 has taken a major stride in carbon capture through scaling up its pioneering carbon-to-rock project in Fujairah. The announcement was made during the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi following the successful completion of the pilot phase of the project. This is a significant step forward for the overall carbon capture strategy that ADNOC will take towards achieving a 10 million tonne-per-year capture capacity by 2030 in synchronization with international climate objectives.
Launched in 2023, the pilot project used the award-winning mineralization technology of 44.01 to store carbon dioxide permanently in the peridotite rock formations. Within less than 100 days, the technology proved effective and fast, mineralizing 10 tonnes of CO2. It involves capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere, dissolving it in seawater, and injecting it deep into peridotite formations for mineralization and secure storage. The entire mineralization effort at Masdar is powered from renewable energy, ensuring sustainable and environmental carbon capture.
The first scale-up at the project involves injecting more than 300 tonnes of CO2, with efforts supported once again by renewable energy sources. The objective is to study the scalability and commercial viability of the mineralization technology so that it becomes a potential option for carbon storage on a large scale. This activity is critical to ADNOC’s decarbonization plan, under which the company has already committed to a massive investment of $15 billion in emissions reduction projects and aims to achieve Net Zero by 2050.
Director-General Ali Qasem, FNRC, was also optimistic about the project. “The peridotite formations in Fujairah give unique opportunities for such a large-scale carbon sequestration project,” he said. “The carbon conversion project in the Emirate of Fujairah is an important step toward a more sustainable future,” Qasem added. “We can implement projects like this on a large scale by leveraging the peridotite formations in Fujairah and thus help reduce our carbon footprint.”
As reported by the Chief Technology Officer at ADNOC, Sophie Hildebrand, “technology is going to play a critical role in ADNOC’s decarbonization strategy.” Carbon capture is one of the significant enablers to reduce carbon emissions and meet global climate goals, she added. The 44.01 CEO, Talal Hasan, was enthusiastic about the collaboration and referenced the pilot success and future development potential. As 44.01 competes for the Carbon Removal XPRIZE, it demonstrates that the UAE has the capability to combine its natural resources with technological innovation to meet its sustainability needs.