The USA’s leading oil and gas company, ExxonMobil Corporation, and the fuel cell technology developing giant, FuelCell Energy, have signed terms for extending their contract till April 30, 2022, in order to continue with the exploitation of carbonate fuel cell technologies that could enable carbon dioxide capturing from the industrial sites and facilitate power generation.
The two companies are jointly planning to install FuelCell Energy’s carbonate fuel cell technology at ExxonMobil’s pilot facility in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and at other third-party locations for studying the technical feasibility of the attached unit. The decision on the Rotterdam facility, expected in 2022, depends on the six-month-long investigation results.
FuelCell Energy’s proprietary carbonate fuel cells employ molten carbonate electrolytes in the electrochemical cell which is capable of capturing carbon dioxide from the flue gas of the power plant simultaneously generating electricity from coal, natural gas or other fuel sources. Carbon dioxide, having the heat-trapping property, accounts for 81% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. The abundantly releasing carbon dioxide emissions from petrochemical plant operations play a vital role in increasing global warming.
As per ChemAnalyst, carbon dioxide capturing technologies have gained huge popularity in recent years given that many petrochemical companies are focussing on delivering products with a lower carbon footprint. The amalgamation a of carbon dioxide capturing technology with the petroleum sector plant operations is expected to bring a much-needed transition to sustainable production routes in ExxonMobil’s operations. The commercialization and the distribution of the carbonate fuel cell technology to wide-scale operations across the globe will ensure a change in market dynamics in future where green energies will be gaining high demand.
