ExxonMobil and two local UK partners have launched a major low-carbon industrial cluster in the Solent region on England’s south coast.

The Solent cluster, in which ExxonMobil’s Fawley refining and petrochemicals complex at Southampton will play a key role, is expected to include production of blue and potentially green hydrogen, as well as sustainable aviation and marine fuels.

The cluster has the potential to capture 3mn t/yr of CO₂ from the region’s existing energy-intensive industries, according to ExxonMobil and its project launch partners—the University of Southampton and the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership. Reducing scope one and two emissions at the Fawley refining complex will be among the priorities.

3mn t/yr – Solent cluster’s potential capture of CO₂

The three partners plan to apply for UK government support under the forthcoming second-track funding round for low-carbon clusters, Matt Crocker, senior vice-president for low-carbon solutions at ExxonMobil, tells Transition Economist.

“We are excited that we have 30-plus members already signed up, and that number is growing almost on a daily basis,” Crocker says. “For the Solent cluster, what is special is that it is the only cluster on the southern coast. It is somewhat uniquely positioned in terms of the opportunities it can provide.”

Among the companies that have joined the project are aerospace company Airbus, UK port operator Associated British Ports and UK biofuel company Advanced Biofuel Solutions.

ExxonMobil is not ready to talk about specific projects or the potential size of its investment in the Solent cluster, but Crocker says both blue and green hydrogen will potentially feature, aligning with the UK government’s technology-agnostic approach.

In terms of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for blue hydrogen production and other decarbonisation projects, Crocker points to the UK’s storage potential.

“While a location has not been picked, we believe the locations exist in which to do geologic storage in the UK, and then it will be a case of seeing where the projects marry up with the capture technology and those storage locations. But, again, the Solent is a pretty unique place in terms of the industries and sectors which are represented.”

Airport links

Hydrogen from the cluster will potentially be used as a feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), Crocker says. The Solent is well placed for the supply of SAF to the UK’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports, given ExxonMobil’s existing infrastructure for the supply of conventional jet fuel to those sites. 

“The logistics are in place, and certainly there is growing need for SAF,” Crocker says.

The Solent cluster will also be well placed to supply low-carbon fuel to the shipping sector, with its proximity to both Southampton and Portsmouth, two of the UK’s major ports, Crocker adds.

“It is very much a case of looking at where there are opportunities are, not just for ExxonMobil, but also more broadly across the other industries,” he says.

In addition to the Solent cluster, ExxonMobil is already involved in the Acorn CCS project in Scotland, which missed out on funding in the first round but was designated as a reserve project.

“If you look at the UK as a whole with the various clusters, they cover only a portion of the emissions in the UK,” says Crocker. “So that, actually, for the UK to reach its 2050 net-zero ambition, the reality is that it will need all the clusters eventually.”

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Author: Stuart Penson