Aramco, a global energy and chemicals company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rondo Energy, a provider of lower-carbon industrial heat and power. It has also begun engineering studies for an industrial-scale deployment of Rondo heat batteries to reduce emissions from Aramco facilities, with subsequent scale-up to 1GWh.
The companies aim to assess the potential for additional scale deployment of the technology at Aramco facilities worldwide and explore joint development of novel applications of the Rondo heat battery technology, such as hydrogen production and carbon capture.
The Rondo heat battery supplies continuous energy from stored wind and solar power at the gigawatt scale and high temperatures required for industrial processes.
"Aramco has stated its ambitions to achieve Net Zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across its wholly owned and operated assets and sees opportunities to build substantial lower-carbon new energy business," said Ali Al-Meshari, Aramco SVP of Technology, Oversight, and Coordination. "Innovative technologies deployed at scale are needed to reduce the costs of emissions reduction, and we are investing heavily in developing these through our R&D, venture capital, and technology deployment programs.”
The companies will plan a joint R&D investigation to explore the applicability of Rondo heat batteries in hydrogen production, carbon capture, and direct air capture projects. The technology can also quickly convert large-scale solar desalination facilities to deliver water and power with lower carbon emissions and lower cost instead of a replacement.
The Rondo technology stores energy in brick materials that can be cost-effectively produced using the Kingdom's mineral resources. The companies will study the prospects of developing large-scale energy storage manufacturing in the Kingdom.
"Rondo is working with one of the world's biggest energy producers towards solving one of the world's biggest energy challenges – low-cost clean energy for industry," said Rondo CEO John O'Donnell. "We're thrilled to announce this MoU with Aramco aimed at delivering lower-carbon energy solutions that can help Aramco achieve their decarbonization ambitions and support the world's critical needs for solar desalination and clean hydrogen."
