Veolia, a leader in environmental services, has announced the signing of three memorandums of understanding with key industrial partners in Saudi Arabia—ACWA, Ma’aden, and Khazeen—to strengthen cooperation across water technologies and hazardous waste management.
“Environmental security has become an essential condition for the sovereignty, competitiveness, and strategic autonomy of territories. In Saudi Arabia, this involves the ability to preserve every drop of water, decarbonize industrial development, and turn waste into resources. Through these agreements, and thanks to our cutting-edge technologies and solutions, we are taking action on a large scale to turn challenges into concrete and effective solutions, in line with Saudi Vision 2030. Our innovations and expertise are only effective when they find concrete applications in response to a territory’s challenges and in support of its essential infrastructures.” Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.
The agreements are designed to advance the priorities of Saudi Vision 2030, particularly by protecting natural resources, supporting the circular economy, and accelerating decarbonization. They also aim to enhance local capabilities and expertise in environmental services.
In the memorandum with ACWA, a major private water desalination company and an early scaled player in green hydrogen, the focus is on improving the design and performance of seawater desalination plants. This includes boosting energy efficiency, optimizing chemical use, enhancing water quality, and applying improved technical, digital, and operational practices. The partnership is expected to build on prior co-performance results across some of the most efficient desalination plants in the region. It could support ACWA’s existing operations of 9.7 million m³ per day and help cut emissions by up to 500,000 tons of CO2 annually, while lowering operating costs and reinforcing regional water security.
With Ma’aden, Veolia will collaborate on managing the water cycle and industrial waste within Saudi Arabia’s mining sector. The plan includes treating and reusing industrial water and exploring ways to reduce waste at the source through recovery and material valorization, enabling new circular-economy pathways.
Finally, with Khazeen (GASCO’s LPG storage subsidiary), the memorandum targets environmental technologies that support decarbonization in regional industry. Veolia’s solutions will cover industrial water treatment and hazardous waste management, and will also include an integrated facility management offering for water, energy, and waste.
Overall, the initiative responds to Saudi Arabia’s strategic challenge of securing resources amid water scarcity, climate change, and growing industrial needs.
Source: Veolia
