SDAIA and IBM partner to accelerate sustainability initiatives in the Kingdom

Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and IBM have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence in the carbon capture and industrial domains throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The first use case under this agreement, announced at the Kingdom’s second Global AI summit, will be in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Energy. The SDAIA, Ministry of Energy, and IBM will use artificial intelligence technology to detect, map, and ultimately reduce carbon emissions throughout the country.

Dr. Majid Al-Tuwaijri, the CEO for the National Center for AI, said,” This agreement with IBM will contribute to creating opportunities by addressing key challenges in circular carbon economy, petrochemical and industrial domains, through the development of innovative solutions in the field of data and artificial intelligence, and the exchange of shared experiences and investment opportunities in this vital area to support achieving the goals of Vision 2030.”

“This agreement would allow us to leverage IBM’s expertise in technologies like artificial intelligence,” Eng. Ahmed Al-Zahrani, Ministry of Energy’s Assistant Minister for Development and Excellence, said, “which will play a key role in promoting the adoption of the Circular Carbon Economy, achieving the goals announced during the Saudi Green Initiative.”

The management of greenhouse gas emissions is critical to the Kingdom’s reaching its objective of net zero, “said Dina Abo-Onoq, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting Saudi Arabia. “Using “multiple satellites and different types of imaging technologies, we will train an AI model to recognize and pinpoint different forms of gas across the entire country.  By doing so, this will help with earlier and better visibility of the problem which has not been possible with conventional measurement approaches.”

As part of the overall agreement, IBM will collaborate with SDAIA to identify high-value applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning to solve problems in the Kingdom’s public and private sectors, with a focus on supporting the Kingdom’s sustainability and industrialization goals.

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a massive transformation to become a global logistics hub and industrial powerhouse. The Kingdom has also set a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2060, as well as supporting the global effort to reduce emissions. The Kingdom’s new cities and infrastructure, such as NEOM and the Red Sea, are being designed with sustainability in mind.