ExxonMobil DAC Initiatives for 2025: Key Projects, Strategies and Partnerships

ExxonMobil’s Carbon Capture Pivot: From R&D to a Commercial Service Model

Industry Adoption: A Strategic Shift from Capability to Commercialization

Between 2021 and 2024, ExxonMobil’s carbon capture strategy was defined by foundational investments and technological exploration. The $4.9 billion acquisition of Denbury in 2023 was a landmark move, securing the largest CO2 pipeline network in the U.S. and signaling a serious commitment to the physical infrastructure required for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) business. During this period, the company focused on building its technological capabilities, launching an in-house direct air capture (DAC) pilot project after ending a research agreement with Global Thermostat, and initiating a partnership with FuelCell Energy to pilot advanced carbonate fuel cells for point-source capture. This phase was about acquiring assets and testing technologies.

Beginning in 2025, a distinct inflection point emerged. ExxonMobil pivoted from building capabilities to actively commercializing them, positioning itself as a “decarbonization-as-a-service” provider. The flurry of partnerships in 2024 and 2025 with companies like Linde, Nucor, CF Industries, and Calpine are not for R&D but for immediate, large-scale commercial service, collectively contracted to transport and store millions of metric tons of CO2 from diverse industrial sources—including industrial gas production, steelmaking, ammonia synthesis, and natural gas power generation. This expansion into varied commercial applications demonstrates a maturing business model targeting hard-to-abate sectors. The proposed project to power data centers with natural gas supported by CCS represents a new market opportunity, while the potential joint venture with ADNOC and 1PointFive for a large-scale DAC facility in Texas signals a move to scale what was once a pilot technology. This strategic shift from internal development to an external-facing service business, underpinned by a goal to dedicate 65% of its lower-emission investments to helping other companies decarbonize, validates the commercial viability of the CCS value chain.

Investments: Underwriting a Low-Carbon Business

ExxonMobil’s financial commitments provide a clear roadmap of its strategic priorities, showing a significant and escalating allocation of capital toward building a formidable low-carbon solutions business centered on carbon capture. Early investments laid the groundwork, while more recent, larger commitments are set to fuel the commercial-scale deployment of these technologies.

Table: ExxonMobil’s Lower-Emission and Carbon Capture Investments

Partnerships: Building a Comprehensive Decarbonization Ecosystem

ExxonMobil’s partnerships are the primary vehicle for executing its carbon capture strategy. The collaborations have evolved from technology-focused R&D to a broad ecosystem of commercial offtake agreements, international expansion, and supply chain development, illustrating a clear intent to build and dominate the end-to-end CCS value chain.

Table: ExxonMobil’s Strategic Carbon Capture and Low-Carbon Partnerships

Geography: From a Gulf Coast Hub to a Global Blueprint

Between 2021 and 2024, ExxonMobil’s carbon capture activities were overwhelmingly concentrated in the U.S. Gulf Coast. This region, particularly Texas and Louisiana, became the nexus for its strategy due to the combination of dense industrial emissions, favorable geology for CO2 storage, and existing infrastructure. The acquisition of Denbury’s pipelines, the launch of the Baytown DAC pilot, and commercial agreements with Linde, Nucor, and CF Industries all centered on this corridor. The only significant outlier was the plan for a technology pilot plant in Rotterdam with FuelCell Energy, signaling early interest in Europe’s industrial heartland.

From 2025 onwards, while the U.S. Gulf Coast remains the operational core with new deals like the Calpine agreement, ExxonMobil has begun to actively export this “hub” model to other key global regions. The Project Development Agreements with PETRONAS in Malaysia represent a major foray into Southeast Asia, a region with growing industrial emissions. Similarly, the partnership with ADNOC not only involves a potential DAC plant in Texas but also a preliminary study for a facility in the UAE, planting a flag in the Middle East. This geographic expansion indicates a strategy to establish dominant positions in future global CCS markets by replicating the integrated capture, transport, and storage model that it has successfully initiated in the United States.

Technology Maturity: Scaling Proven Solutions While Advancing the Frontier

ExxonMobil is pursuing a dual-track technology strategy: rapidly commercializing mature technologies while methodically advancing next-generation solutions from pilot to scale. In the 2021-2024 period, the focus was on testing and validation. The company initiated its own DAC pilot in Baytown to gain operational insights and partnered with FuelCell Energy to build a pilot for its novel carbonate fuel cell capture technology in Rotterdam. These were R&D-centric moves aimed at refining nascent technologies and reducing costs, underscored by the stated goal of halving the cost of DAC.

The period from 2025 to today demonstrates a clear shift. The company is now deploying proven, commercial-scale point-source capture technologies, evidenced by the MHI alliance and the multi-million-ton storage agreements with Calpine, Linde, and Nucor. This part of the business has moved firmly into the commercial and scaling phase, leveraging the acquired Denbury infrastructure. Simultaneously, technologies that were previously in pilot are now being primed for commercial scale-up. The potential $500 million DAC joint venture in Texas would represent one of the first large-scale commercial DAC facilities, a significant step beyond the initial Baytown pilot. The continued development of carbonate fuel cells and new materials shows that R&D remains a priority, but the overall portfolio has matured, with a clear pathway from lab to pilot to full-scale commercial deployment.

SWOT Analysis: ExxonMobil’s Evolving Carbon Capture Position

Table: SWOT Analysis of ExxonMobil’s Carbon Capture Strategy

Forward-Looking Insights: The Year of Commercial Execution

The data from 2025 signals that ExxonMobil’s carbon capture business has transitioned from ambition to execution. The coming year will be a critical test of its ability to deliver on the large-scale commercial agreements it has signed. The market should no longer watch for announcements of capability but for milestones of physical progress: final investment decisions, construction starts, and CO2 injection volumes.

The most important signal to monitor is the final investment decision on the proposed DAC facility in Texas with ADNOC and 1PointFive. This will serve as a major validation point for the commercial viability of DAC at scale. Secondly, progress on the international front, particularly with PETRONAS in Malaysia, will indicate whether the U.S. Gulf Coast “hub” model can be successfully exported. While point-source CCS for industrial clients is clearly gaining commercial traction and is the core of the current business, the trajectory of DAC and the advanced carbonate fuel cell technology will reveal the pace of next-generation decarbonization. The momentum is firmly with the “decarbonization-as-a-service” model, and the key question is no longer if ExxonMobil can build a CCS business, but how quickly it can scale it globally.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ExxonMobil’s “decarbonization-as-a-service” model?
It represents a strategic shift from using carbon capture technology for its own operations to offering a full-service commercial solution for other companies. ExxonMobil leverages its infrastructure, like the Denbury pipelines, to transport and permanently store CO2 captured from the industrial facilities of its customers, such as Nucor (steel), Calpine (power generation), and CF Industries (ammonia).

How did the $4.9 billion Denbury acquisition support this strategy?
The Denbury acquisition was a foundational move that provided ExxonMobil with the largest CO2 pipeline network in the United States. This existing infrastructure is the critical logistical backbone that enables the company to offer its ‘decarbonization-as-a-service’ model by connecting industrial CO2 emitters to secure, underground storage sites.

Is ExxonMobil’s carbon capture business only focused on the U.S.?
No. While the U.S. Gulf Coast is its primary operational hub, the company is actively exporting its model globally. Key international expansions include a partnership with PETRONAS to develop CCS projects in Malaysia and a potential joint venture with ADNOC and 1PointFive to evaluate a large-scale Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility in the UAE.

What types of carbon capture technology is ExxonMobil using?
ExxonMobil employs a dual-track technology strategy. For immediate commercial scale, it is deploying proven solutions, such as its alliance with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for post-combustion capture. Simultaneously, it is advancing next-generation technologies like its in-house Direct Air Capture (DAC) and innovative carbonate fuel cells (in partnership with FuelCell Energy), moving them from pilot projects toward large-scale deployment.

What is the most significant change in ExxonMobil’s strategy from 2024 onwards?
The most significant change is the pivot from building capabilities to actively commercializing them. Before 2024, the focus was on acquiring assets (like Denbury) and R&D (like the DAC pilot). From 2024, the strategy shifted to execution, marked by a flurry of large-scale commercial agreements with third-party customers to validate its business model and generate revenue from its carbon capture and storage services.

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