Saudi Arabia appears to be doubling down on carbon capture as part of its plans to create a circular economy. Last week the country’s Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP) and Ministry of Energy (MoEnergy) unveiled the Carbon Capture and Utilization Challenge.
The challenge invites startups from across the globe to present innovative approaches to reduce carbon emissions through sustainable system transformations. This includes advancements in carbon capture technologies, novel applications for carbon utilization, and industrial integration.
“The climate change issue and sustainability is a global issue. It cannot be attended to in regional scopes or as a smaller territorial thing. It has to be global,” said Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy.
Faisal Alibrahim, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning also : “The Kingdom is keen on a just, orderly, and pragmatic energy transition and is working towards the advancement of the circular carbon economy framework. Through this challenge, related to innovation inside the circular carbon economy, we look forward to seeing new solutions that would help push innovation forward. We encourage all the innovators, thinkers, and companies to come up with out-of-the-box solutions, even solutions that could perhaps look like a long shot at present but which could turn out to be applicable and actionable in the future.”
The announcement of the challenge took place during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) in a session titled “SDG 13 and Interlinkages with Other SDGs – Climate Action” on July 10, 2024.
Saudi Arabia aims to bolster its efforts to reach its net zero target by 2060 through the Circular Carbon Economy Framework, a strategy the country developed a number of years ago which places an emphasis on four “R’s”: reduce, reuse, recycle, remove.
This approach – and the startup challenge – not only aims to mitigate the impact of carbon emissions but also redefines CO2 as a valuable resource rather than a pollutant.
Submissions will be assessed based on criteria such as scalability, commercial viability, technological readiness, and fundraising success.
Winners will be acknowledged as leading innovators and will join the UpLink Innovation Ecosystem, a specialized program for founders, CEOs, executive directors, and other leaders. They will also share a cash prize of up to CHF 300,000 and receive technical, business, and operational support to scale their ideas.
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