RIYADH: Saudi Aramco has launched a new research center to accelerate the development of low-carbon energy solutions using advanced analytics as the oil giant moves ahead with hitting its net-zero ambition. Inaugurated today at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the Aramco Research Center will deploy artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop ways to advance low-carbon solutions and enable a circular carbon economy, a press release said. “The Aramco Research Center at KAUST offers a unique opportunity to strengthen our collaboration with KAUST and accelerate the development of cutting-edge technologies that will contribute to a low-carbon future,” Chief Technology Officer Ahmad Al-Khowaiter said. He added that the research at this new facility will help the company meet its obligations to customers and energy consumers worldwide, while also supporting its ambition of reaching operational net-zero emissions by 2050. This comes after the world’s biggest oil exporter released its first sustainability report earlier this month, pledging to reduce its upstream carbon intensity by at least 15 percent to 8.7 kilograms of carbon dioxide by 2035. With the establishment of the research center, Aramco looks to leverage on KAUST’s capabilities in areas such as super-computing and data analytics.