Exxon Mobil Corp. affiliate Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Green Investment Group Ltd. and gas distribution company SGN to explore the use of hydrogen and carbon capture in emissions reduction in the Southampton industrial cluster in the U.K.
Under a feasibility study conducted by Macquarie Group Ltd.'s Green Investment Group and SGN — previously known as Scotia Gas Networks Ltd. — carbon capture facilities could capture an initial 2 million tonnes per year of CO2 from the cluster, including from the initial production of 4.3 Terawatt-hours of hydrogen per year, Exxon said in a Dec. 8 news release.
The study anticipates that the cluster, which is where Exxon's Fawley refinery and petrochemical plant is located, could see annual hydrogen demand reach as high as 37 TWh by 2050.
Hydrogen production from the project could start as early as 2030, provided its technical and business feasibility is confirmed and government support is secured, Exxon said.
The project announcement follows closely on the heels of Scott Darling, the vice president for Exxon's Low Carbon Solutions business, urging financiers to push for policies that incentivize low-carbon investments and policies that underpin carbon pricing. The energy major's Low Carbon Solutions segment, unveiled earlier this year, is focused on carbon capture and storage, biofuels and hydrogen.
Exxon on Dec. 6 also ramped up its emissions reduction targets, saying it is now aiming to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its Permian Basin assets by 2030, which is part of the company's corporatewide goal to slash upstream greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 40% to 50% by 2030 from 2016 levels.