Aramco Signs $200 Million Deal for Lithium Project in Saudi Arabia
A unit of National Energy Services Reunited signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to develop a pilot project for lithium production valued at nearly $200 million.
The Environment and Decarbonization unit at National Energy Services Reunited signed an agreement with Saudi Aramco to develop a pilot project for lithium production in the Kingdom, under a contract worth nearly $200 million, according to Argaam. The deal marks the Saudi energy company's entry into the battery metals sector through a limited-scale pilot project in its first phase.
The company stated that the five-year contract aims to produce 2,000 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, with commissioning and production expected to begin in late 2027. Setting the annual production capacity indicates that the project is designed to test technical and economic feasibility before any broader expansion.
The project combines Aramco's subsurface expertise with the partner company's "Lithara" platform, which includes direct lithium extraction and carbonation technologies. Direct extraction serves as an alternative to traditional evaporation ponds, which take longer and consume larger amounts of water and land.
The agreement comes amid expanding competition for battery metals relied upon by the electric vehicle and energy storage industries, as regional countries seek to build a presence in the value chain rather than relying solely on raw material exports. The commercial viability of these projects remains tied to lithium prices and the development of extraction technologies.
What do these terms mean?
Lithium Carbonate: A chemical compound used as a primary material in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries and energy storage devices, priced globally as a commodity.
Battery Grade: The level of chemical purity that renders the material suitable for use in battery cell manufacturing, which is higher than standard industrial grades.
Direct Extraction: A technology that extracts lithium from brine solutions using chemical adsorbents instead of letting water evaporate in open ponds.
Pilot Project: A small-scale facility built to test technical or economic feasibility before moving to large-scale commercial production.
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