Abu Dhabi, UAE – ADNOC, Abu Dhabi’s leading energy company, in collaboration with climate tech firm 44.01, completed the pilot project in Fujairah where 10 tonnes of CO2 were permanently mineralized within 100 days. With this milestone, this project is to be scaled up with the same innovation carbon-to-rock that may eventually contribute to large-scale carbon storage and assist in ADNOC’s ambitious decarbonization strategy.
A milestone towards the aim of grabbing 10 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030 has been marked with the partnership, which has been announced at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi. The pilot started in 2023 to inject the CO2 into the peridotite rock formations in Fujairah, a very ‘natural mineral resource-rich’ region that could be permanent carbon sequestrations.
Pilot Success: A Milestone for Carbon Mineralization
The pilot demonstrated that it could capture and inject CO2 directly from the atmosphere in the rock formations present at Fujairah. It makes use of CO2 captured from the atmospheric, dissolves the gas in seawater, and injects the latter into peridotite formation deep in the ground, where the chemical reaction with the rock converts the gas into a permanent solid mineral compound. This new technology ensures that any captured CO2 is stored properly so that it does not end up back in the atmosphere.
This carbon conversion project by the Emirate of Fujairah is a giant step for a sustainable future,” said Ali Qasem, Director-General of the Fujairah Natural Resources Corporation (FNRC). “Peridotite formations are present only in Fujairah, offering unique scope to establish projects of such dimensions that can create large-scale carbon reduction for us.”.
Carbon mineralization technology has a success story in one of its pilot projects that stored as much as 10 tonnes of CO2 within just 100 days, proving that the technology can be scaled up and applied throughout the UAE. This is in light of Masdar-provided renewable energy drivers used in the technology, “which addresses the global challenge of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by stabilizing CO2 into a long-lasting safe and solid mineral form.”.
Scaling Up: Injecting 300 Tonnes of CO2
With the initial success of the pilot, ADNOC and 44.01 are now executing the first round of scaling up. The next round will entail injecting more than 300 tonnes of CO2 into the peridotite formations to further test the scalability and commercial viability of this technology. This forms part of the ADNOC broader carbon capture strategy, in efforts to make carbon capture and storage a central tool in efforts to decarbonize operations and contribute to global climate goals.
With technology playing a critical enabler role in ADNOC’s decarbonization strategy, we are pleased to have seen this 44.01 mineralisation technology come into the light for demonstration purposes, in Fujairah,” said Sophie Hildebrand, Chief Technology Officer of ADNOC. “Carbon capture is an important tool to reduce carbon emissions and meet global climate goals.”.
The scaling-up phase will be supported by renewable energy, provided by Masdar, in line with ADNOC’s efforts to reduce carbon footprint in its energy operations. Using power from renewables, carbon capture process, thus, remains commercially viable and aligns with broader sustainability objectives of ADNOC.
Alignment with ADNOC’s Decarbonization Goals
This carbon capture project is scaled up as part of ADNOC’s more considerable investment in decarbonization efforts, which would amount to $15 billion, to help the company achieve its ambitious goal of Net Zero by 2050. As a part of it, ADNOC has agreed upon increasing carbon capture capability from its industrial complexes to 10 million tonnes per year by 2030. On this context, the project with 44.01 is an important action through which it has showcased that it is working towards using high-tech technologies and natural resources to achieve the sustainability aspirations.
At this critical time when global pressure for carbon curbs is rising, ADNOC is focusing on carbon capture. The UAE, through initiatives such as this one, is setting an example in the global race to reduce emissions and deliver scalable and effective solutions in combating climate change. This project fits into and supports global climate goals-particularly the requirement for cutting-edge technologies that can remove carbon from the atmosphere safely and store it.
Role of 44.01 in driving carbon removal innovation
The carbon removal tech firm playing a key role in the success of this project is 44.01, the company whose Earthshot prize-winning technology forms the heart of the carbon-to-rock process that could revolutionize carbon capture and storage the world over. ADNOC collaboration while competing for the Carbon Removal XPRIZE, exemplifies that the technology is viable and has commercial potential.
“Our pilot project with ADNOC proved the feasibility of carbon mineralization in the UAE,” said 44.01 CEO Talal Hasan. “We are delighted to partner on scaling up operations and continuing to refine our technology on the path toward demonstrating commerciality.”
The Future of Carbon Capture and Climate Action in the UAE
This will then present the carbon-to-rock project, ADNOC-44.01, as a milestone forward in the efforts of reducing climate change in UAE. Through upscaling such innovation technology, ADNOC and 44.01 have the potential to bring to fore huge-scale carbon removal projects, which can play a crucial role in the transition of a low-carbon economy in the UAE.
This project also serves as a precedent for other nations and companies all over the world to explore the options of carbon mineralization as a tool in achieving climate objectives. With further investment in decarbonization technologies, the UAE shall be a world leader in sustainable energy solutions and carbon management.
Conclusion
This partnership by ADNOC with 44.01 will be an important step towards the UAE’s efforts in reducing carbon emission and meeting its climate targets. The successful pilot coupled with scale-up, which is now in the pipeline, will be worthwhile to determine the potential of carbon-to-rock technology at scale for carbon storage. Decarbonization into the Future: The partnership with 44.01 for the state-of-the-art technologies in decarbonization further strengthens the country’s commitment to its goal of Net Zero by 2050 and to climate action globally.