Mitsubishi Corporation has signed a deal with ExxonMobil to buy a stake in the oil and gas company’s blue hydrogen and ammonia megaproject in Baytown, Texas.
A signed project framework agreement has solidified the plans. It also confirms Mitsubishi’s plans to offtake low-carbon ammonia from the site for use in Japanese power generation process heating, and other industrial activates.
The announcement ties in with Mitsubishi’s plans to convert part of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal into an ammonia terminal for transshipment.
ExxonMobil’s Baytown facility is believed to be the largest of its type. Once in operation, it will produce up to one billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen a day and more than one million tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per annum.
Read more: ExxonMobil makes major blue hydrogen and carbon capture commitments in the US
The project is also expected to capture and store seven million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Masaru Saito, CEO of Mitsubishi’s Environmental Energy Group, said he is excited to work with ExxonMobil to develop low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia supply chains that will bridge the US and Japan.
“We are also working with Idemitsu Kosan, which is developing an ammonia hub near ours and intends to participate in ExxonMobil’s hydrogen facility with us. Together, we will lead this joint initiative to assist in the acceleration of the hard-to-abate sectors’ transition to clean energy.”
Mitsubishi has formed a council to use Namikata Terminal as a hub for introducing fuel ammonia. The council is targeting to handle around one million tonnes per annum of low-carbon ammonia by 2030.
In the past year, several strategic announcements have been made to advance the Baytown facility.
Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) signed a contract to acquire a 35% stake in the megaproject.
Prior to that, industrial gas giant Air Liquide said it will build, own, and operate four large modular air separation units (ASUs) as part of an $850m investment that will double its oxygen production capacity to support the Baytown project.
The four ASUs will primarily supply ExxonMobil with low-carbon oxygen and nitrogen. They will generate a “record volume” of 9,000 metric tonnes of oxygen daily and 6,500 metric tonnes per day of nitrogen to support the production of low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia.
Read more: Air Liquide to invest $850m to boost ExxonMobil’s Texas hydrogen project
In March 2024, power generation company JERA said it was looking to buy into the project. However, nothing further has been confirmed.
Read more: JERA evaluates buying stake in ExxonMobil’s Baytown low-carbon hydrogen project
In addition to considering its ownership participation in the project, JERA is also looking to secure around 500,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia annually from the site for end-user markets in Japan.
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