Allentown-based Air Products announced Monday that it will build, own and operate a state-of-the-art carbon capture and carbon dioxide treatment facility at its existing hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
This will be the largest blue hydrogen plant in Europe once operational.
According to a release, the facility is expected to be on-stream in 2026, and the resulting blue hydrogen will serve ExxonMobil’s (Esso) Rotterdam refinery and additional customers via Air Products’ hydrogen pipeline network system.
The carbon capture retrofit will capture CO2 from Air Products’ existing hydrogen plant and ExxonMobil’s Rotterdam refinery. The plant will be connected to the Porthos system, a consortium developing the first large-scale CO2 transport and storage system in the Netherlands, which recently reached final investment decision approval. Along with CO2 from other industry in the port of Rotterdam, the captured CO2 will be transported to depleted gas fields in the North Sea, where it will be permanently stored at a depth of more than 3 kilometers under the seabed.
Porthos allows Air Products to more than halve its CO2 emissions in the port of Rotterdam. This represents a substantial step for reducing Air Products’ direct emissions and contributes to meeting the Dutch National Climate Agreement targets. Air Products also is working hard to further decarbonize its own activities and those of its customers by realizing plans to make green hydrogen available from imported renewable energy in the port of Rotterdam.
The project is being undertaken as part of long-term agreements with ExxonMobil and the Dutch state. Blue hydrogen from Air Products’ hydrogen production plant will help customers, while also creating and retaining jobs.
“Air Products has been actively present and investing in Rotterdam for decades,” said Chief Operating Officer Samir J. Serhan. “Industrial companies here are continually looking for ways to realize synergies, create economies of scale, drive energy efficiencies and ultimately decarbonize. This project fulfils that demand. By sequestering CO2 through Porthos and bringing additional blue hydrogen to ExxonMobil and other customers, we can help generate a cleaner future.”
