Saudi Aramco launches $1.5 bln sustainability fund

President and CEO Amin Nasser

Saudi Aramco launched today, Oct. 26 a $1.5 billion sustainability fund, one of the world’s biggest sustainability-focused venture capital funds, President and CEO Amin Nasser unveiled at the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference. 

The fund will be directed to breakthrough technologies and startups that will help to address climate change, Nasser added.

In a statement received by Argaam, the giant oil producer said the fund will be managed by Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco.

The fund is an extension of Aramco’s efforts to meet the world’s growing energy demand, with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It also plans to invest in technologies that support the oil giant’s previously-announced net-zero 2050 ambition for its wholly-owned operational assets, as well as the development of new lower-carbon fuels.

Initial focus areas will include carbon capture and storage, GHG emissions, energy efficiency, nature-based climate solutions, digital sustainability, hydrogen, ammonia and synthetic fuels. The fund will target investments globally.

In addition, Aramco is developing its blue ammonia and hydrogen business, with the aim of producing up to 11 million metric tons of blue ammonia per year by 2030. This could also help support significant emissions reductions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as heavy-duty transport, heating and industrial applications.

Aramco is also exploring opportunities to reduce GHG emissions across the entire value chain of its products. It aims to implement a range of initiatives to support the Circular Carbon Economy framework, under which CO2 emissions are reduced, reused, recycled and removed, the statement added.