MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY TO SIMPLIFY CARBON CAPTURE

January 15, 2025 at 11:29 AM EST

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Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, a developer and manufacturer of hydrogen membranes and catalytic membrane reactors, have entered into a collaboration agreement to commercialize advanced metal-ceramic membrane technology. This innovative partnership aims to simplify pre-combustion carbon capture processes, offering a cost-effective option for reducing carbon emissions from energy-intensive industries.

Carbon capture technology is important towards meeting global emission reduction targets. This collaboration leverages improvements in catalytic membrane reformers where a metal-ceramic membrane is paired with a reforming catalyst. In a streamlined process, hydrocarbons are converted to carbon dioxide (CO₂) and hydrogen (H₂), enabling the CO₂ to be captured and stored, while the H₂ is used as a decarbonized energy carrier. The same metal-ceramic membranes are also well-suited for hydrogen extraction from back-cracking of ammonia (NH₃).

“We believe this partnership will unlock new potential for reducing the carbon emissions in industrial processes,” said Ali A. Al-Meshari, Senior Vice President of Technology Oversight & Coordination at Aramco. “By partnering with CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, we aim to accelerate the commercialization of metal-ceramic membrane technology, paving the way for cost-effective carbon capture and hydrogen production.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Aramco on this groundbreaking technology,” added Timothy Coors, Chairman of CoorsTek Membrane Sciences. “Together, we plan to bring to market a solution that not only addresses the need for carbon reduction in the energy and chemical industry, but also enables more efficient hydrogen value chains - an essential component for the lower-carbon energy export and import at global scale.”

Aqil Jamal, Carbon Management R&D Chief Technologist at Aramco, explains the unique advantage of this core technology: “It’s not just the new membrane itself that motivates us, but what becomes possible when it’s coupled with a catalyst. This new generation of catalytic membrane reactors allows us to surpass equilibrium limits for key chemical reactions, significantly reducing the energy required to separate CO₂.”

“This transition from research to real-world application is not just a technical achievement — it’s a transformative breakthrough that has the potential to fuel the creation of new supply chains and business models,” said Tiju Joseph, who leads Corporate Services Commercialization at Aramco. “Commercializing the technology built on a decade of R&D represents a key milestone in the journey towards decarbonizing industrial assets.

CoorsTek Membrane Sciences Managing Director, Per Vestre, added: “The potential cost savings are substantial. Our techno-economic models indicate that using these membrane reactors can significantly lower the cost of decarbonizing ethylene production—one of the world’s most important base chemicals—by up to 50% compared to alternatives like post-combustion carbon capture or direct electrification through renewable power.”

About CoorsTek Membrane Sciences

CoorsTek Membrane Sciences is a technology developer and manufacturer of hydrogen membranes and catalytic membrane reactors with headquarters in Oslo, Norway, and an affiliate of CoorsTek. Founded in 1910 and owned by the Coors Family, CoorsTek is a leading global manufacturer of technical ceramics with over 5,000 employees around the world and headquarters in Colorado, USA.

About Aramco

As one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, our global team is dedicated to creating impact in all that we do, from providing crucial oil supplies to developing new energy technologies. We focus on making our resources more dependable, more sustainable and more useful, helping to promote growth and productivity around the world. https://www.aramco.com