ExxonMobil, Irving, Texas, on Jan. 30 announced the next step in the development of what it calls the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen production facility with a contract award to Technip Energies, Paris, for front-end engineering and design (FEED). A final investment decision for the project is expected by 2024, subject to stakeholder support, regulatory permitting, and market conditions.
“This project allows us to offer significant volumes of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia to third-party customers in support of their decarbonization efforts,” said Dan Ammann, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. “In addition, the project is expected to enable up to a 30% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our Baytown integrated complex, by switching from natural gas as a fuel source to low-carbon hydrogen.”
The project targets 1 billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen per day, while capturing more than 98% of associated CO2 emissions, or 7 million mt/y. Offtake agreements are under discussion with third party customers.
ExxonMobil did not offer an approximate ammonia production capacity at this time, though ammonia is definitely under evaluation. “We are currently evaluating size/scope of ammonia production, and business fundamentals such as customer demand, completion of engineering work, permitting, and approvals will be factors in our assessment,” a company spokesperson told Green Markets.
The startup of ExxonMobil’s Baytown low-carbon hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture facility is planned for 2027-2028.
ExxonMobil is also considering a similar facility for its Southampton Fawley complex in the UK.
ExxonMobil said it will pair the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen facility with the largest olefins plant in the US to deliver more sustainable, lower-emissions products for customers and society.
Last year, ExxonMobil announced an agreement to collaborate with CF Industries Holdings Inc. and EnLink Midstream to capture and permanently store up to 2 million mt/y of CO2 emissions from CF’s Donaldsonville, La., manufacturing facility (GM Oct. 14, 2022). Start-up for that project is for early 2025. As a result, CF expects to market up to 1.7 million mt/y of blue ammonia from the complex.
As previously announced, CF is investing $200 million to build a CO2 dehydration and compression unit at the Donaldsonville facility to enable captured CO2 to be transported and stored (GM Aug. 12, 2022). ExxonMobil will transport and permanently store the captured CO2 in secure geologic storage it owns in Vermilion Parish. ExxonMobil plans to develop a 125,000-acre CO2 storage location in the parish. As part of the project, ExxonMobil will use EnLink’s transportation network to deliver CO2 to storage. EnLink already has a system of over 4,000 miles of pipeline in the state.
ExxonMobil is also advancing green hydrogen and ammonia production at its Slagen terminal in Norway, having signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Grieg Edge Maritime, Bergen, Norway; North Ammonia, Oslo; and GreenH, Oslo, in June 2022 to study the project.
The companies are looking at the use of hydroelectric power to produce up to 20,000 mt/y of green hydrogen and distribute up to 100,000 mt/y of green ammonia. They see a possibility of the terminal directly supplying low-emission maritime fuels as it is located at the opening of the Oslofjord, where more than 10,000 ships pass through every year.