ExxonMobil signs agreement for JERA to join low carbon hydrogen, ammonia production project

ExxonMobil Corp. and JERA Co. Inc. have reached a project framework agreement to jointly explore the development of a low carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project in the US.

Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will explore JERA’s ownership participation in ExxonMobil’s hydrogen production plant under development at its 561,000-b/d integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Baytown, Tex., as well as JERA’s procurement of about 500,000 tonnes/year of low-carbon ammonia produced by the project for demand in Japan, JERA said in a release Mar. 25.

Part of the company’s strategy to reduce emissions, the proposed Baytown hydrogen plant would be equipped to produce blue hydrogen, or hydrogen produced natural gas and supported by carbon capture and storage (CCS), ExxonMobil said in early-project planning in 2022 (OGJ Online, Mar. 3, 2022).  

The plant is slated to have an annual production capacity of about 900,000 tonnes of low-carbon hydrogen and annual production capacity of more than 1 million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia, JERA noted in its release.

The plant could be up and running with production set to begin in 2028 with the right tax incentives and permitting, the company said in 2023.