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JERA reached an agreement with Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) to jointly explore the development of a low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia production project in the U.S., the Japanese company said Monday.
Under the deal terms, JERA said it will explore ownership participation in Exxon's (XOM) hydrogen production plant under development at its 561K bbl/day integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Baytown, Texas, as well as JERA's procurement of ~500K metric tons/year of low-carbon ammonia produced by the project for export to Japan.
Exxon (XOM) is developing what is expected to become the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen production plant in Baytown, with production capacity of 900K metric tons/year of hydrogen and more than 1M tons/year of low-carbon ammonia, which is expected to commence in 2028.
Ammonia is considered a carbon-neutral alternative fuel, given that it does not emit any carbon dioxide during combustion, making it a promising candidate for companies looking to reach decarbonization targets.