(Reuters) -Air Products and Chemicals said on Monday it will build, own and operate a carbon capture and carbon dioxide (CO2) treatment facility at its existing hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The facility is expected to be on-stream in 2026, and the resulting "blue" hydrogen product would serve Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)'s Rotterdam refinery and additional customers via Air Products (NYSE:APD)' hydrogen pipeline network system.
Air Products, which supplies industrial gases to sectors ranging from electronics and manufacturing to food and beverages, said this will be the largest blue hydrogen plant in Europe once operational.
Major industries, including energy, steel and chemicals, are looking at ways to switch to hydrogen as a fuel to help reduce carbon emissions.
Hydrogen is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, but traditional methods of producing it at scale release large amounts of carbon dioxide. Blue hydrogen is made from natural gas in combination with carbon capture.
Air Products said the carbon capture retrofit will capture CO2 from the company's existing hydrogen plant and Exxon Mobil's Rotterdam refinery.
The oil major aims to achieve net-zero scope 1 and scope 2 emissions from its operated assets by 2050.