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climate solutions
Hydrogen
A low-carbon fuel
blue hydrogen
What is blue hydrogen?
Blue hydrogen is an industry term for hydrogen produced from natural gas and supported by carbon capture and storage. The CO2 generated during the manufacturing process is captured and stored permanently underground. The result is low-carbon hydrogen that produces no CO2.
Blue hydrogen may one day be the lowest-cost option to help decarbonize industrial heating, residential heating in extremely cold climates and heavy-duty vehicles.
blue hydrogen
Hydrogen fuel: poised for growth
ExxonMobil plans to build a world-scale “blue” hydrogen plant at its Baytown, Texas, refining and petrochemical complex. When combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen will support the company's commitment to reducing emissions across its operations.
Here’s a look at how it works
HYDROGEN FACILITY AT BAYTOWN
Our first world-scale hydrogen facility
To further support our ambitions for net zero Scopes 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions across major operated assets by 2050, we are planning a world-scale blue hydrogen plant at our integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Baytown, Texas. The new plant could generate up to 1 billion cubic feet of hydrogen per day, delivering low-carbon fuel to the Baytown olefins plant and other Houston-area facilities.
Replacing natural gas with hydrogen at the Baytown olefins plant could reduce the integrated complex’s CO2 emissions by up to 30% compared to current operations. The International Energy Agency sees hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels meeting 10% of global energy needs as part of its “Net Zero by 2050” scenario.
The carbon capture and storage (CCS) portion of this project is expected to be one of the world’s largest and would represent ExxonMobil’s initial contribution to the greater-Houston, cross-industry effort to capture and store 100 million metric tons of CO2 per year by 2040, subject to government, industry and community support, along with market conditions.
POTENTIAL EXPANSION IN THE UK
Blue hydrogen hub in southern England
We signed a memorandum of understanding with gas distribution company SGN, and Green Investment Group, to look at ways to lower industrial CO2 emissions in the Southampton, UK, area using low-carbon hydrogen. This includes our Fawley complex.
If the technical and business feasibility of the initiative is confirmed, a facility to capture industrial CO2 emissions could be constructed near the Southampton Water industrial area. The captured CO2 would then be shipped offshore for safe and permanent storage.