ExxonMobil has announced the next step in the development of the world’s largest low-carbon H₂ production facility with a contract award to Technip Energies for front-end engineering and design (FEED). A final investment decision (FID) for the project is expected by 2024, subject to stakeholder support, regulatory permitting, and market conditions.

ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas, low-carbon H₂, ammonia and carbon capture facility is expected to produce 1 Bft³d of low-carbon H₂, making it the largest low-carbon H₂ project in the world at planned startup in 2027–2028. 

More than 98% of the associated CO₂ produced by the facility, or around 7 metric MMtpy, is expected to be captured and permanently stored. The carbon capture and storage network being developed for the project will be made available for use by third-party CO₂ emitters in the area in support of their decarbonization efforts.

“This project allows us to offer significant volumes of low-carbon H₂ 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 H₂.”

ExxonMobil will pair the world’s largest low-carbon H₂ facility with the largest olefins plant in the U.S. to deliver more sustainable, lower-emissions products for customers and society.