BASF & ExxonMobil Partner to Advance Methane Pyrolysis for Low-Emission Hydrogen

• BASF and ExxonMobil have formed a strategic collaboration to co-develop methane pyrolysis technology for low-emission hydrogen production.
• The partnership combines BASF's innovative reactor design with ExxonMobil's scale-up expertise to accelerate commercial deployment.
• A key part of the plan is to construct a demonstration plant at ExxonMobil's Baytown facility, targeting 2,000 tons of hydrogen and 6,000 tons of solid carbon annually.
• Methane pyrolysis converts natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon without generating process CO2 emissions.
• The technology offers significant advantages, including using much less energy than water electrolysis, requiring no water, and leveraging existing natural gas infrastructure.
• The process yields two valuable products: low-emission hydrogen for energy and industry, and solid carbon for use in steel, aluminum, construction, and battery materials.

BASF and ExxonMobil have entered into a strategic collaboration to accelerate the development of methane pyrolysis technology, marking a significant step toward providing efficient and cost-competitive low-emission hydrogen for industrial applications. Under a joint development agreement, the two companies will work together to advance this technology, with plans to build a demonstration plant aimed at achieving commercial readiness.

The partnership brings together the technological innovations and industrial expertise of both corporations. ExxonMobil brings decades of technical knowledge in methane pyrolysis, while BASF has been developing its own advanced reactor concept over the past decade, successfully validating it at a test facility in Ludwigshafen. The collaboration is expected to combine BASF’s process innovation with ExxonMobil’s scale-up capabilities to accelerate the deployment of this low-emission solution.

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Methane pyrolysis uses electricity to decompose natural gas or bio-methane into hydrogen and solid carbon, without generating process-related CO2 emissions. This method presents notable advantages over conventional hydrogen production techniques, as it requires significantly less electrical energy than water electrolysis, uses no water, and can leverage existing natural gas infrastructure. The process yields two valuable outputs: low-emission hydrogen, which serves as both an energy carrier and a chemical feedstock, and high-purity solid carbon, which has applications in industries such as steel, aluminum, construction, and battery materials.

As part of the joint effort, the companies plan to construct and operate a demonstration plant at ExxonMobil’s Baytown Complex, with a targeted annual production capacity of up to 2,000 tons of low-emission hydrogen and 6,000 tons of solid carbon. This facility is intended to validate the technology at a meaningful scale and support its path toward commercial implementation.