Carbon capture and storage

ExxonMobil, Mosaic Materials Team Up To Explore New Carbon Capture Technology

Mosaic’s technology uses chemistry to remove carbon dioxide from emissions sources, and the two firms will be looking at how to scale it for industrial use.

Ball labeled CO2 being captured in a net

ExxonMobil and Mosaic Materials said on 26 August that they have entered into an agreement to explore the advancement of breakthrough technology that can remove carbon dioxide from emissions sources.

Mosaic Materials has progressed research on a unique process that uses porous solids, known as metal/organic frameworks, to separate carbon dioxide from air or flue gas. The agreement with ExxonMobil will enable further discussion between the two companies to evaluate opportunities for industrial uses of the technology at scale.

“New technologies in carbon capture will be critical enablers for us to meet growing energy demands while reducing emissions,” said Vijay Swarup, vice president of research and development for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company.

“Our agreement with Mosaic expands our carbon capture technology research portfolio, which is evaluating multiple pathways—including evaluation of carbonate fuel cells and direct air capture—to reduce costs and enable large-scale deployment. Adding Mosaic’s approach will allow us to build on their work to evaluate the potential for this technology to have a meaningful impact in reducing carbon dioxide emissions.”

“Through this agreement with ExxonMobil, we look to accelerate the pace of our development and demonstrate the business and environmental benefits that our technology can offer,” said Thomas McDonald, chief executive officer for Mosaic. “Our proprietary technology allows us to separate carbon dioxide from nearly any gas mixture using moderate temperature and pressure changes, substantially increasing energy efficiency and decreasing costs.”

Mosaic’s agreement with ExxonMobil is part of its commitment to accelerate the effect of its technology and is Mosaic’s latest direct engagement with companies across a range of industries to demonstrate both the cost reductions and the environmental benefits of the technology.

This engagement builds upon ExxonMobil’s extensive portfolio—in collaboration with startups, academia, and governments—to develop next-generation energy technologies that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ExxonMobil supports Cyclotron Road, a fellowship for entrepreneurial scientists that is managed in partnership between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Activate, an independent nonprofit.

ExxonMobil also recently announced a 10-year, up-to-$100-million agreement to research and develop advanced lower-emissions technologies with the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and National Energy Technology Laboratory.

For more than 30 years, ExxonMobil engineers and scientists have researched, developed, and applied technologies that could play a role in the widespread deployment of carbon capture and storage. With a working interest in approximately one-fifth of the world’s total carbon capture capacity, ExxonMobil has been able to capture about 7 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide and has cumulatively captured more of it than any other company since 1970.