An investment project for low-carbon oxygen production in the Americas
Published on April 04, 2025
2 minutes
Air Liquide could invest up to 850 million dollars to create a low-carbon industrial gas platform in Baytown, Texas, as part of a long-term agreement with ExxonMobil. The goal is to build, own, and operate four large modular air separation units (LMAs) at the customer’s facility. Pending the final investment decision, this major decarbonization project would be the largest industrial investment in Air Liquide’s history.
Under the project, Air Liquide would operate four LMAs at the facility owned by ExxonMobil, a strategic customer of the Group for 30 years. The new units are capable of supplying a record daily volume of 9,000 metric tons of oxygen, which would be used by ExxonMobil’s autothermal reformers (ATR) to produce low-carbon hydrogen. The LMA units would also supply up to 6,500 metric tons of nitrogen per day to support the production of ammonia as a source of low carbon energy for the export market. In addition, the LMA units would produce large amounts of argon, krypton, and xenon, enabling the Group to strengthen its offering to customers in the rare gases market.
This trailblazing project will support ExxonMobil in its aim to build the world’s largest low-carbon hydrogen platform in Baytown. The facility is expected to produce 1 billion cubic feet of low-carbon hydrogen every day and more than 1 million tons of ammonia every year, while capturing and permanently storing 7 million tons of CO2 annually.
For Air Liquide, the project also has strategic significance, as the new LMA units will raise the Group’s oxygen production capacity by 50% in the region, while reducing the CO2 footprint per ton of oxygen by two-thirds.
