Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. (SARBV) and its partner, the United Company for Industry (UCI), announced the signing of an agreement with Aramco, the Saudi Arabian Oil Company,  to construct and operate a world-class ‘Metals Reclamation Complex’ for the recovery and recycling of metals in Al-Jubail Industrial City, in Saudi Arabia. 

According to the statement, the agreement is in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which aims to accelerate energy transition, achieve sustainability aspirations and drive circular investment in the Kingdom. As the Kingdom and the GCC region are becoming globally pivotal for the supply and demand of the metal, vanadium, the Metals Reclamation Complex seeks to enable the development of a world-class and regional facility for processing refineries’ recyclable materials into valuable products. 

In support of this initiative, this agreement aims to be the initial phase of the Supercenter complex, with the processing of the metal vanadium concentrate from the Jazan Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Plant, licensed by Shell, to produce high-purity Vanadium Pentoxide; build a regional research and development center for testing a residue-upgrading catalyst; install a Lithium Vanadium Battery; and install a vanadium electrolyte production plant, an important step in the development of a market for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries in the Kingdom. 

The Agreement also addresses later phases of the visionary “In-Kingdom Supercenter” that include expanding recycling capabilities, as well as a regional hub for spent residue catalysts, metals reclamation, and fresh residue-upgrading catalyst manufacturing. This unique combination of capabilities, all in one place, will provide an end-to-end solution for refiners, and aim to accelerate growing niche downstream industries in the Kingdom, the statement added.