The front-end engineering and design phase of ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen project in Baytown, Texas, has been contracted to Technip Energies (FEED).

At the time of its anticipated start-up in 2027–2028, the low-carbon hydrogen, ammonia, and carbon capture facility will be the largest low-carbon hydrogen project in the world, producing one billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen every day.

It is anticipated that more than 98%, or roughly 7 million metric tonnes per year, of the associated CO2 produced by the project, will be absorbed and permanently stored.

The project’s carbon capture and storage network, according to the business, will be made accessible for use by local CO2 emitters to aid in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

By 2024, a final investment decision will be made about the project, pending stakeholder support, regulatory approval, and market conditions.

The project enables us to provide considerable volumes of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia to third-party customers in support of their decarbonization efforts, according to Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions. Additionally, by converting from natural gas to low-carbon hydrogen as a fuel source, the project is anticipated to enable a decrease in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from our Baytown integrated complex of up to 30%.

ExxonMobil released its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives for operating assets for 2030 in 2021. The proposals are anticipated to reduce corporate-wide greenhouse gas intensity by 20–30%, upstream operations’ greenhouse gas intensity by 40–50%, corporate-wide methane intensity by 70–80%, and corporate-wide flaring intensity by 60–70%.

By the year 2050, ExxonMobil claims it will have operated assets with net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions.