diff --git a/geemap/common.py b/geemap/common.py
index 21ad714456..5bc19c2ad5 100644
--- a/geemap/common.py
+++ b/geemap/common.py
@@ -3299,7 +3299,7 @@ def ee_to_xarray(
                     f"Failed to access Earth Engine internal state for current project: {e}\n"
                     "Please provide the 'project' parameter explicitly or ensure Earth Engine is properly initialized."
                 )
-            
+
             # Use current_project if available, otherwise use provided project
             if current_project is not None:
                 ee.Initialize(project=current_project, opt_url=opt_url)
diff --git a/geemap/coreutils.py b/geemap/coreutils.py
index e4b6147dea..aff0d8e25e 100644
--- a/geemap/coreutils.py
+++ b/geemap/coreutils.py
@@ -76,6 +76,20 @@ def ee_initialize(
     if ee.data._get_state().credentials is not None:
         return
 
+    if get_env_var("EE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT") is not None:
+
+        key_data = get_env_var("EE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT")
+
+        try:
+            email = json.loads(key_data)["client_email"]
+        except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
+            raise ValueError(f"Invalid JSON for key_data: {e}")
+        except KeyError:
+            raise ValueError("key_data JSON does not contain 'client_email'")
+        credentials = ee.ServiceAccountCredentials(email=email, key_data=key_data)
+        ee.Initialize(credentials)
+        return
+
     ee_token = get_env_var(token_name)
     if ee_token is not None: