ExxonMobil could supply French ammonia distribution firm Trammo with up to 500,000 tonnes of blue ammonia from its planned Baytown hydrogen plant in Texas, US.

The pair have signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) to advance talks on Trammo’s long-term offtake of 300,000-500,000 tonnes of low-carbon ammonia per year.

The Baytown plant is expected to be among the world’s largest blue hydrogen plants. Its capacity to supply the energy carrier will generate over one million tonnes of ammonia per year, with around 98% of CO2 captured.

Trammo plans to deliver and sell blue ammonia in Europe and worldwide for use in fertilizer production and other industrial applications.

It comes after Japanese majors Mitsubishi and Jera revealed they were looking to offtake ammonia from and invest equity in the plant in 2024.

Exxon expects to make the final investment decision (FID) on the project this year and start production in 2029. However, it had previously warned that if tax credit rules for hydrogen producers were not relaxed, it could axe the plans.

With President Trump renewing the US’s energy focus on oil and gas, the firm says the Baytown plant’s timeline is “subject to support government policy, regulatory permitting, and market conditions.”

Commenting on the Trammo deal, Barry Engle, President of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said, “Our Baytown project continues to make significant strides, attracting increasing customer interest.”