King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to establish a technical alliance.
The alliance will focus on managing the performance and safety of non-metallic and composite materials in energy applications (ENERCOMP).
Aramco joined this alliance as a founding member and the first research sponsor to enhance the development of non-metallic materials in the energy sector.
Objectives of Alliance
This five-year technical alliance represents a significant investment by KAUST in research and development in non-metallic and composite materials.
Moreover, it aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s position in energy and materials transitions.
This joint investment aims to support Saudi Vision 2030 towards sustainability and diversifying income sources.
It will also develop materials that consume less energy with a lower carbon footprint.
Benefiting from other Initiatives
Aramco will leverage its expertise from related initiatives such as the Carbon Hub at Rice University in the USA and the Non-metallic Innovation Centre (NIC) in the UK to support the ENERCOMP alliance.
It will also help the alliance in transforming basic science into deployable safety management solutions. This will increase the long-term industrial sector’s confidence in the role non-metallic and composite materials can play in material transformation.
Similar to the NIC model, the initiative will encourage other influential parties in the energy sector to join the alliance and benefit from KAUST’s advanced research capabilities in engineering solutions, artificial intelligence, and material sciences.
Dr. Ali Al-Meshari, Senior Vice President for Technical Coordination and Supervision at Aramco, explained that this collaboration aims to establish an innovation center for advanced composite materials in the Kingdom.
Moreover, it aims to deploy new technologies for safety management in the energy industry. This includes focusing on the development and integration of cost-effective and smart sensors in composite materials and applying emerging artificial intelligence solutions.
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