ExxonMobil’s affiliate, Esso Nederland BV, plans to build a pilot plant at its Rotterdam manufacturing complex to test the carbonate fuel cell (CFC) technology developed in partnership with FuelCell Energy to significantly reduce CO2 emissions from key industries.
The pilot project, co-funded by the European Union under the Emissions Trading System Innovation Fund and by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency by means of a Demonstration Energy and Climate Innovation (DEI+) grant, aims to acquire data on the performance and operability of the CFC technology.
It will also address potential technical issues expected to occur in a commercial environment and understand the costs of installing and operating a CFC plant for carbon capture.
“The unique advantage of this technology is that it not only captures CO2 but also produces low carbon power, heat, and hydrogen as co-products,” said Geoff Richardson, SVP of Commercial and Business Development for ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions.
Carbonate fuel cells can capture CO2 emissions from industrial sources before their release into the atmosphere with an output of valuable co-products. This feature not only increases the overall efficiency of the capture process but also provides additional value streams, minimizing the cost of carbon capture and storage.
CFC technology is modular and helps carbon capture across a wide range of deployment scales. The CFC technology is expected to offer economical decarbonization solutions for customers from a wide range of industries and help deliver a net-zero future.
ExxonMobil expects to deploy this technology at its manufacturing sites around the world after a successful pilot demonstration.
