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.

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.