Aramco and Siemens AG have decided to collaborate to build a pilot project for carbon capture and storage (CCS) as Saudi Arabia seeks new ways to tackle emissions.

“We believe direct-air capture will work but needs more innovation and technologies to bring the costs down,” Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said at an event on Sunday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as he announced the project.

The project aims to explore the potential of direct-air capture, a method that involves extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere rather than directly from sources of emissions. The direct-air method is the costliest application of carbon capture, according to the International Energy Agency.

Aramco is the state-owned petroleum and natural gas company of Saudi Arabia. As of 2022, it is the second-largest company in the world by revenue and is headquartered in Dhahran.

Siemens AG is a German technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare.