Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Circular Materials Company (ACMC), a joint venture between The Netherlands-based Shell & AMG Recycling BV (SARBV) and local firm United Company for Industry (UCI), has solicited interest from contractors to build a metals reclamation facility in the kingdom.

ACMC has approached local and international contractors to submit prequalification documents for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works on the planned project by 21 July.

Front-end engineering and design work on the project is in its “conclusion phase”, SARBV, the lead partner in the project, said in a statement. The facility is scheduled to enter commercial operations by the end of 2026.

SARBV first announced its intention to build a metal reclamation and catalyst manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia in November 2019. The kingdom’s Ministry of Investment, then known as the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), supported the project.

In July 2022, SARBV and UCI signed an agreement to formalise their joint venture and build the proposed facility in PlasChem Park in Jubail Industrial City, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The project has received support from Saudi Aramco’s Namaat industrial investment programme. Aramco, at the time, also signed an agreement with the joint venture to offtake vanadium-bearing gasification ash from the Jazan refining complex, to be produced as part of the first phase of the project.

Metals recycling facility

ACMC has divided the project in four phases. Phase 1 will process gasification ash generated by the Jazan refining complex to produce battery-grade vanadium oxide and vanadium electrolyte for vanadium redox flow batteries. AMG will provide the licensed technology required for the production process.

At nominal capacity, the first phase of the project will process 7,000 metric tonnes year of vanadium concentrate. ACMC has allocated a budget of $200m approximately for this phase.

Phase 2 would expand the facility to process spent catalyst from heavy oil upgrading facilities to produce ferrovanadium for the steel industry and/or additional battery grade vanadium oxide.

Phase 3 involves the installation of a manufacturing facility for residue upgrading catalysts.

In the fourth phase, a vanadium electrolyte production plant is to be developed.

The developers expect total carbon dioxide emissions reduction of 3.6 million metric tonnes a year when the four phases of the project are commissioned.

Photo credit: SARBV