Plans by LyondellBasell to shut down the Houston refinery this year might provide room for a hydrogen production facility.
Two regional hubs—one in Houston, Texas, and the other in Cologne, Germany—would include the hydrogen factory. In October, LyondellBasell announced that it would collaborate on a Gulf Coast hydrogen project with Chevron, the French industrial gases company Air Liquide, and the German energy corporation Uniper. According to Ken Lane, executive vice president of olefine and polyolefins at LyondellBasell, the Houston refinery is the chosen location for the plant.
With pipelines linking it to crackers in Channelview, a strategic location, and access to the Houston Ship Channel, the refinery is advantageously situated. The company intends to process fresh low-carbon feedstocks that it will then pipe to Channelview using some of the refinery equipment that will be reused.
