ExxonMobil Taps Air Liquide as Partner for Major Hydrogen Project

Air Liquide has agreed to potentially invest $850 million to provide feedstock and transport support for Exxon Mobil Corp’s planned hydrogen production project in Texas.

ExxonMobil says the Baytown city project would be the biggest hydrogen producer in the world with a capacity of one billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen daily. It would also produce one million tons per annum of ammonia, and would be built with a carbon capture and storage capacity of seven MMtpa. Ninety-eight percent of the associated carbon dioxide emissions would be captured on-site, according to ExxonMobil.

The planned investment by the French maker of industrial gases and equipment hinges on supportive government policy and regulatory permits for the hydrogen project, as well as market conditions surrounding the project, according to separate statements by the two companies.

Air Liquide’s involvement in the project covers the construction, operation and ownership of four large modular air separation units (LMAs) in Baytown, as well as the provision of its existing pipeline network to transport hydrogen produced in the ExxonMobil facility. The LMAs would supply 9,000 metric tons of oxygen and up to 6,500 metric tons of nitrogen daily to the hydrogen factory. 

“This will enable Air Liquide to increase its oxygen production capacity by 50 percent in Texas”, Air Liquide said. “Pending final investment decision, this major project would mark the largest industrial investment in the history of the Air Liquide Group.

“This new Air Liquide Baytown low-carbon platform would serve primarily ExxonMobil with vast amounts of low-carbon oxygen and nitrogen, as well as significant volumes of argon and rare gases such as krypton and xenon for Air Liquide’s other customers”.

ExxonMobil said, “Partnering with Air Liquide, ExxonMobil aims to enable the growth of a low-carbon hydrogen market along the U.S. Gulf Coast to help industrial customers decarbonize their operations”.

Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, commented, “Momentum continues to build for the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen project and the emerging hydrogen market”.

Air Liquide François Jackow said, “Our Baytown Low Carbon platform project demonstrates our capacity to innovate and leverage on our footprint in the U.S. to actively contribute to the decarbonization of the industry”.

“Through this new agreement with ExxonMobil, Air Liquide is proud to support the development of what is poised to be the world’s largest low-carbon platform while reinforcing its gas offering in this key industrial basin”, Jackow added.

Air Liquide also highlighted that the LMA plants would minimize emissions. “These LMA plants provide a step-change both in terms of production output and energy consumption optimization, as they use 25 percent less electricity to make each tonne of oxygen”, Air Liquide said. “In addition, these LMA plants are planned to be primarily powered by renewable and low-carbon electricity, further reducing the carbon footprint of the project”.

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