Air Liquide, Chevron, LyondellBasell, and Uniper to pursue hydrogen and ammonia projects in the US

Air Liquide, Chevron Corporation, LyondellBasell, and Uniper have announced their intent to collaborate on a joint study that will evaluate and potentially advance the development of a hydrogen and ammonia production facility along the US Gulf Coast.

The facility could support industrial decarbonisation and mobility applications in the region and expand clean ammonia exports, helping to increase the supply of lower carbon power internationally.

The potential project to be studied is intended to cover the end-to-end, energy value chain, utilising each participant’s technical expertise in production, operational experience, storage, distribution, and export logistics. Collectively, the consortium will bring capabilities and expertise in air separation technology, hydrogen technologies, lower carbon intensity and renewable natural gas, carbon capture and storage (CCS), electrolysis-based technologies, and petrochemicals. 

Adam Peters, CEO of Air Liquide North America, said: "Air Liquide is proud to evaluate, with its customers and industry partners, opportunities to further develop and deploy low-carbon and renewable hydrogen, and carbon capture technologies in the region. The Gulf Coast is the ideal location to model hydrogen and carbon capture technologies as immediate pathways to decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors."

Specifically, the consortium will assess the potential for producing hydrogen using natural gas with CCS and renewable hydrogen via electrolysis to supply end-use markets, including the ammonia, petrochemicals, power, and mobility markets.

Austin Knight, Vice President of Hydrogen, Chevron New Energies, said: "Across the value chain, collaborations are critical to developing a hydrogen ecosystem, and this is an example of bringing together leaders in the space to explore lower carbon hydrogen opportunities and to contribute complementary expertise. We are seeking to accelerate the deployment of lower carbon solutions and believe companies like Chevron can help bring the capabilities needed to make this a reality. "

If development proceeds, the project could leverage existing advantages along the Gulf Coast, including pipeline infrastructure, to supply lower carbon and renewable hydrogen to local industrial clusters. Likewise, ammonia infrastructure could support exports to both Europe and the Asia Pacific region. 

Marc Merrill, President and CEO of Uniper in North America, added: "Uniper is very excited to collaborate with this unique group of companies to explore a truly transformative U.S. Gulf Coast hydrogen infrastructure project. We look forward to bringing the best of our U.S. business and global technical and commercial platforms to support this effort. Uniper is committed to the green expansion of our Wilhelmshaven LNG receiving terminal in Germany and expects to receive and store over 2 MTPA of clean ammonia at the port by the end of the decade. U.S. Gulf Coast supply from this initiative can be critical to meeting that goal."