ExxonMobil signs Nucor carbon capture deal, reaching 5 MTA milestone

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions agreed to capture and store up to 800,000 metric tons of CO2 annually from Nucor's Louisiana steel plant, lifting its third-party total to 5 million metric tons. The deal signals scaling industrial carbon capture relevant to decarbonising India's hard-to-abate steel sector.

ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions will capture, transport, and store up to 800,000 metric tons of CO2 annually from Nucor's manufacturing facility in Convent, Louisiana, which produces direct reduced iron (DRI) for high-quality steel. This is ExxonMobil's third carbon capture agreement in seven months, following deals with industrial gas firm Linde and fertiliser manufacturer CF Industries. The agreement brings the total annual CO2 volume designated for transportation and storage for external clients to 5 million metric tons, equivalent to displacing roughly 2 million gasoline cars.

Steel manufacturers and other energy-intensive industries are the targeted clients, as ExxonMobil focuses on emission solutions for hard-to-abate sectors. The Nucor project, expected to begin operations in 2026, will use the same CO2 transport and storage infrastructure as the CF Industries undertaking. It aligns with Louisiana's goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. President Dan Ammann said momentum is surging as customers recognise their capacity to address emissions at considerable scale across energy-intensive sectors.

Indian steelmakers and heavy-industry players facing decarbonisation pressure should monitor the Nucor project's 2026 start and the shared CO2 transport-and-storage infrastructure model. Companies in hard-to-abate sectors can track how third-party carbon capture scales, given ExxonMobil's 5-million-tonne external milestone and three deals in seven months. Industrial stakeholders evaluating capture-and-storage partnerships should watch the integration of multiple clients into common infrastructure as a template for cost-efficient deployment.

Key figure — Capture volume: up to 800,000 metric tons CO2 annually from Nucor