Houston refinery is part of DOE’s $1.2 billion hydrogen hub plan
In Texas, Houston Chronicle reported that LyondellBasell confirmed its plans to convert its Houston refinery into a hydrogen facility during an earnings call Friday, saying the soon-to-be-shuttered facility is now on track to participate in Houston’s HyVelocity hydrogen hub.
This hub is one of seven hubs recently selected by the US Government to receive as much as $1.2 billion each in federal funding.
LyondellBasell CEO Peter Vanacker said during the call, “a lot of steps” stand between the company and redevelopment of its refinery along the Houston Ship Channel.
“In the transformation of our Houston refinery, we have multiple projects that we are currently looking at,” Vanacker said, noting the potential to use equipment and pipeline connections at the site for use in its plastics production.
Other members of the HyVelocity hydrogen hub include the University of Texas at Austin, oil firms Chevron and Exxon, gas supplier Air Liquide, AES Corp., Mitsubishi Power Americas, Ørsted, Sempra Infrastructure, the nonprofit Center for Houston’s Future and GTI Energy, a research-and-development nonprofit.
LyondellBasell, a multinational chemicals company has not made a final decision about how it will repurpose the Houston refinery, which it plans to close in early 2025, according to the report.
The company said in a recent statement that hydrogen offers a way to reduce greenhouse gases while fueling processes used by Lyondell and other manufacturers to make products used in everyday life.
“Government funding is needed to accelerate the development of hydrogen production, infrastructure capacity, and transition to low carbon fuels in manufacturing,” said Chris Cain, LyondellBasell’s senior vice president of net zero transition. “We look forward to contributing to the success of the HyVelocity Hub and bringing the benefits of clean hydrogen and good jobs to the Gulf Coast.”
