
Aramco and Ma’aden to launch lithium joint venture in Saudi Arabia
Aramco, a leading global energy and chemicals company, and Ma’aden, the largest multi-commodity mining firm in the Middle East and North Africa, have announced plans to establish a joint venture (JV) focused on transition minerals, including lithium extraction.
The proposed JV aims to combine Aramco’s extensive geoscience expertise, subsurface data, and advanced digital capabilities with Ma’aden’s decades of mining experience. The collaboration will target energy transition minerals crucial for technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), energy storage systems, and renewable energy solutions.
As part of its operations, Aramco has identified high concentrations of lithium—up to 400 parts per million—within its areas of operation. This discovery positions the Kingdom to play a pivotal role in the global energy transition. The JV plans to employ cost-effective direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies, with the potential for commercial lithium production to begin by 2027.
“The proposed JV will enable extraction of energy transition minerals, contributing meaningfully to the growth of more sustainable energy solutions while diversifying our portfolio for a lower-carbon future. We expect that this partnership will leverage the world’s leading upstream enterprise to apply significant low-cost advantages, industry experience, technological innovation, accumulated subsurface knowledge and an integrated supply chain ecosystem, with a view to meeting the Kingdom and potentially the world’s projected lithium demand,” said Aramco Upstream President Nasir K. Al-Naimi.
“Ma’aden has been undertaking one of the world’s largest single-jurisdiction exploration programs across the Arabian Shield, to unearth the estimated USD2.5 trillion mineral endowment. This proposed JV would enable us to accelerate exploration of the Arabian Platform, combining Aramco’s vast knowledge of the area with Ma’aden’s extensive mining and exploration expertise,” said Darryl Clark, Ma’aden senior vice president of Exploration.
Lithium demand has tripled globally over the past five years, driven by the expansion of EVs and renewable energy. The Kingdom’s lithium demand is projected to grow twenty-fold by 2030, supporting the production of 500,000 EV batteries and 110 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy.
Pending regulatory approvals, the partnership between Aramco and Ma’aden aims to contribute meaningfully to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification while addressing global lithium shortages.