In a signing ceremony held in Dhahran, Saudi national oil company Aramco and China National Building Material Group (CNBM) entered a five-year cooperation deal to explore projects in renewable energy and building materials innovation. The collaboration aims to potentially establish factories in Saudi Arabia for producing wind turbine blades, hydrogen storage tanks, and low-carbon building materials, supporting the kingdom's nascent wind energy and green hydrogen industries. Saudi Arabia's ambitious plans for the green hydrogen economy include a $5bn project at the Neom development, set to become the world's largest producer of hydrogen from renewable sources by 2026. Wail Al Jaafari, Aramco’s vice-president of technical services, emphasized the pursuit of materials science breakthroughs to benefit the building sector and beyond. The partnership leverages Aramco's expertise in non-metallic materials and CNBM's industry understanding. Notably, in 2021, Aramco launched a Non-metallic Excellence and Innovation Centre for Building Materials in Beijing in collaboration with the China Building Materials Academy. Zhou Yuxian, the chair of CNBM, highlighted the agreement's potential to contribute to low-carbon development and strengthen strategic alignment between China and Saudi Arabia. The cooperation also includes plans for a center for training, inspection, and accreditation, as well as a technology research and development center. This partnership signifies a step towards innovative solutions in the building materials sector and showcases the commitment of both companies towards sustainable development and economic growth.