Advancing climate solutions
ExxonMobil is committed to advancing innovative solutions for a lower-carbon energy future
Society's demand for reliable, affordable energy — and its desire to achieve the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement — require action. ExxonMobil supports these ambitions and has unique expertise and technical solutions, developed over decades. From its depth and breadth of operational experience — coupled with a history of progress and innovation, project execution and ability to scale up technology — ExxonMobil is poised to help work toward a lower-carbon future through our programs, partnerships and advocacy of sound public policies.
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What is ExxonMobil’s climate strategy and role in helping advance the energy transition?
ExxonMobil is positioned to make a difference by:
• Reducing emissions in its operations through avoidance and improving energy efficiencies• Providing products to help customers reduce their emissions
• Developing and deploying scalable technologies to help decarbonize highest-emitting sectors
• Proactively engaging on climate-related policy
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What emission-cutting technologies is ExxonMobil developing?
With a long history of scientific innovation combined with operational expertise, ExxonMobil is focused on decarbonizing a number of energy-intense sectors including manufacturing, transportation and power generation. Carbon capture and storage is an essential part of the portfolio alongside continued research and advancements in biofuels and hydrogen. -
Can the world meet climate targets, including those in the Paris Agreement, without carbon capture and storage?
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) agree that CCS is one of the most important low-carbon technologies required to achieve society’s climate goals at the lowest cost.
Investing in solutions
The company’s sustained investment in R&D plays an important role in helping to develop breakthrough solutions in areas such as carbon capture, biofuels, hydrogen and energy-efficient process technology.
- Investments primarily focused on reducing emissions from three sectors that emit 80 percent of all energy-related greenhouse gas emissions: power generation, industrial and commercial transportation.
- Invested in technology that could capture more than 90 percent of CO2 and prove up to six times more effective than conventional technology.
- Partnered with governments, academia and industry to research and commercialize biofuels, direct air capture and lower the cost of carbon capture and storage to help support society’s ambition of net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Since 2000, more than $10B has been invested to research, develop and deploy lower-emission energy solutions.
Helping customers reduce emissions
ExxonMobil is delivering products and solutions that enable customers to meet production performance requirements while reducing their emissions and improving energy efficiency across the supply chain. Products and solutions include:
Reducing GHG emissions
lower carbon solutions programs
Carbon capture and storage technology will be vital for the energy transition
With a long history of innovation, combined with scientific and operational expertise, ExxonMobil has the technical readiness to lead in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Currently, CCS is one of the few technologies that could enable some industry sectors to decarbonize while also creating economic opportunities. The company has more than 30 years of experience in CCS technology, and is the first company to capture more than 120 million metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to eliminating the emissions of more than 25 million cars for one year.
CCS technology capability is available today, and has the potential to be commercialized. It's one of the critical technologies required to achieve net zero emissions and the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. ExxonMobil is advancing plans for multiple new carbon capture and storage opportunities around the world to enable large-scale emission reductions.
Learn more about carbon capture and storageWhat is carbon capture and storage?
CCS is the process of capturing CO2 that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and then injecting that CO2 into deep geologic formations for safe, secure and permanent storage. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) agree that CCS is one of the most important low-carbon technologies required to achieve societal climate goals at the lowest cost. CCS is also one of the few technologies that could enable some industry sectors to decarbonize, including the refining, chemicals, cement and steel sectors.
Capture and store CO2 in Houston
ExxonMobil is one of several companies with operations in the greater Houston area that have expressed interest in capturing CO2 emissions. The region has two features that make it an ideal site for CCS: a large concentration of industrial emission sources, and it’s located near geologic formations in the Gulf of Mexico region that could store large amounts of CO2 safely, securely and permanently.
Carbon capture and storage could help the city of Houston meet its climate leadership aspirations and achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
We have a unique opportunity to spearhead a breakthrough approach to reducing carbon emissions. As the world’s leader in carbon capture and storage, ExxonMobil is eager to play our part.
programs
Developing biofuels
With global demand for energy projected to grow by about 25 percent through 2040, ExxonMobil seeks to progress the science needed to deliver advanced biofuels with environmental benefits, identifying the best pathways to make these groundbreaking technologies available to consumers. The company is working alongside scientists at universities, government laboratories and companies to develop solutions for tomorrow’s commercial transportation that do not compete with food or water supplies.
Through these partnerships, ExxonMobil is focused on fundamental science and engineering, and ultimately the production of advanced biofuels that are affordable, sustainable and scalable. Examples include algae, corn stover, switchgrass or methane emitted from microbial activity in landfills. Among many other benefits, algae can be used to manufacture biofuels similar in composition to today’s transportation fuels.
Learn more about biofuel developmentGrowing fuel
~50 percent
lower life cycle greenhouse gas emissions will be produced by algae biofuels as compared to petroleum-derived fuel.
Partnerships and collaborations
Better together
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Energy centers
Working with key organizations around the world to develop new energy technologies to help lower emissions. -
Viridos
Researching algae to create a scalable biofuel for reducing emissions in heavy duty transportation. -
FuelCell Energy
Continuing to research ways to use fuel cell technology to remove CO2 from industrial facilities. -
Global Thermostat
Researching pathways to scale the removal of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
supportive of policy
Our positions
ExxonMobil’s scientists and engineers are working to develop innovative and scalable solutions to help reduce emissions, with a focus on the highest-emitting and most-difficult-to-decarbonize sectors of the economy: commercial transportation, power generation and heavy industry. But to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, durable, predictable, market-driven policies are needed to produce the greatest emissions reductions at the lowest cost to society.
Public policy decisions are made at all levels of government and have significant effects on our current and future operations. ExxonMobil supports policies that promote a stable investment climate for long-term business viability and continues to communicate our positions to policy stakeholders and governments around the world.
- Establishing a market price on carbon will play an important part by providing the needed clarity and stability required to drive investment.
- No single technology on its own can enable society to achieve its lower-carbon ambitions.
- Predictable, stable, cost-effective policies are necessary to incentivize the development and scalability of a wide range of low-carbon technologies across the economy.
More articles about climate solutions
Climate solutions Energy Factor • Aug. 12, 2021
Climate solutions Energy Factor • April 19, 2021
Energy and Carbon Summary Report
Climate solutions Energy Factor • July 21, 2021
Climate solutions Energy Factor • Feb. 26, 2021