Oil giant Saudi Aramco has launched a $1.5 billion sustainability fund to invest in technology that will support the energy company’s 2050 net-zero goals while helping to develop new lower-carbon fuels.

“This is going to be amongst the biggest funds in the world for sustainability,” Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

The initial focus will be on carbon capture and storage, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, and hydrogen.

Although Aramco has “a number of funds,” the new one, according to Nasser, is focused on fostering global sustainability and ground-breaking technologies.

The launch of Prosperity7 Ventures, a $1 billion venture capital fund, was announced by Aramco in February. Early-stage blockchain startups and those in the finance and healthcare industries were among its investments. Future investments will also be made in clean, low-carbon energy sources like blue hydrogen.

Aramco is presently developing carbon capture and hydrogen capabilities and aims to create up to 11 million tonnes of blue ammonia annually by 2030. The development of blue hydrogen is anticipated to aid the firm’s objective to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.