Air Products (AP) recently announced it will build, own and operate a state-of-the-art carbon capture and carbon dioxide (CO₂) treatment facility at its existing hydrogen (H₂) production plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The facility is expected to be on-stream in 2026, and the resulting ‘blue’ H₂ product to serve ExxonMobil’s (Esso) Rotterdam refinery and additional customers via AP' H₂ pipeline network system. This will be the largest blue H₂  plant in Europe once operational.

The carbon capture retrofit will capture CO₂  from AP' existing H₂ plant and ExxonMobil’s Rotterdam refinery. The captured CO₂  will be transported to depleted gas fields in the North Sea, approximately 20 kilometers off the coast, where it will be permanently stored at a depth of more than three kilometers beneath the seabed.

The project is being undertaken as part of long-term agreements with ExxonMobil and the Dutch State. Blue H2 from AP’ plant will help customers in industry and mobility transition, whilst also creating and retaining jobs in an important industrial area.