Aramco announced the creation of a $1.5 billion Sustainability Fund to invest in technology that can support a stable and inclusive energy transition.
This will be one of the largest sustainability-focused venture capital funds globally. Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco, will manage the fund.
The fund plans to invest in technologies that support the company’s net-zero 2050 ambition in its wholly-owned operational assets, as well as development of new lower-carbon fuels.
Initial focus areas will include carbon capture and storage, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, nature-based climate solutions, digital sustainability, hydrogen, ammonia and synthetic fuels. The fund will target investments globally.
In addition, Aramco’s subsidiary Aramco Trading Company has participated in the first voluntary carbon credits auction organized by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Aramco and PIF earlier this year, to participate in a regional voluntary carbon market to be launched in Saudi Arabia in 2023.
Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser, said: “The Sustainability Fund reinforces our commitment to leverage innovative technologies that will make a difference in addressing the dual challenge of achieving greater energy security and sustainability, and show how these two great imperatives can and must co-exist.”
Aramco’s ambition is to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by 2050. In June, the company also announced interim targets to reduce net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by more than 50 million metric tons of CO2e annually by 2035.