Investors flock to ExxonMobil hydrogen hub

Investment giants from around the world have been attracted by the energy giant’s H2 project

ExxonMobil has become a prime example of the appeal hydrogen hub projects still have to major investors, as the company saw funders flock to be a part of its planned blue H2 location in Baytown, Texas at its refining and chemical complex.

The largest of its kind

According to ExxonMobil, once the hydrogen hub is operational, it will be the largest of its kind on the planet.  This project recently saw two major investors join in the funding for both the facility itself and for the production of the blue H2.

This was the case despite the controversy surrounding blue H2 when compared to cleaner options such as green H2 that is made using methods powered by renewable energy.  Blue H2 still relies on fossil fuels – primarily natural gas – though it mitigates its emissions using carbon capture and storage or carbon capture and use technologies.  The controversy tends to surround the ongoing reliance on fossil fuels and on the imperfect nature of carbon capture.

The hydrogen hub intends to use natural gas from the Baytown refinery

The Baytown refinery’s own operations will be used for the feedstock for producing the blue H2 at the project’s location. ExxonMobil intends to use part of the H2 it produces as a fuel powering the Baytown facility itself, helping to shrink its own carbon footprint.  That said, the majority of the H2 produced will be used for producing low carbon ammonia.

Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi’s national oil company ADNOC signed an agreement to purchase a 35 percent equity stake in that facility.  That said, the specific value of the deal was not initially announced and had not been disclosed by the time this article was written.

Mitsubishi is also investing

The other major investor in the hydrogen hub is Mitsubishi Corp, which more recently announced that it had come to an agreement with ExxonMobil for its own deal framework to invest in the location for a share of the facility and to establish a long-term offtake agreement for the low-carbon ammonia.