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    1. Energy Efficiency

    ExxonMobil and FuelCell Energy to Test Carbonate Fuel Cell Technology at Manufacturing Complex in Netherlands

    Dec. 29, 2023
    Carbonate fuel cells can capture CO2 emissions from industrial sources before their release into the atmosphere with an output of valuable co-products
    ExxonMobil
    658eedccac4261001d3c4f9e Exxonmobil

    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. 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.