ExxonMobil has awarded major contracts for the construction of a planned large-scale blue hydrogen plant in Texas. The goal: produce hydrogen on a giga-scale, capturing about 98% of the CO2 emissions produced.
Houston-based ExxonMobil Corp. has awarded contracts to Honeywell International Inc. of North Carolina and Topsoe A/S of Denmark to supply CO2 capture and storage technology. They will be integrated into a new hydrogen plant being built at ExxonMobil's chemical complex in Baytown, Texas.
ExxonMobil plans to use Honeywell's CO2 fractionation and hydrogen purification system. According to the company, it can capture about 7 million tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 1.5 million cars. Topsoe will supply its patented "SynCOR" technology for the plant, which is based on novel principles of autothermal reforming.
98% emissions capture
The CO2 capture system, the company says, enables the capture of more than 98% of the emissions associated with hydrogen production from natural gas. ExxonMobil plans to permanently store the captured CO2 underground.
The Baytown plant is expected to produce about one billion cubic feet of hydrogen per day. That would make it one of the largest hydrogen plants in the world when it comes on line in 2027-2028, as planned.
The ExxonMobil complex in Baytown occupies about 3,400 acres along the Houston Ship Channel and is home to several large petrochemical plants.
