Texas Gulf Coast

Clean Industrial Hub

Developing industry in Texas

Texas has an opportunity to lead the new era of green industrial development.

Existing industry and heavy transport in Texas, which include cement, steel, aluminium, chemicals, aviation, shipping, and trucking, account for 23% of US industrial greenhouse gas emissions. Meeting our collective global climate goals requires building more than 700 net-zero industrial projects by 2030 and purchasing 7 million zero-emissions trucks by 2030. Most of these projects will occur in regional industrial hubs where the physical, social, regulatory and economic infrastructure is in place to support rapid scale up – places like Texas.

That’s why Mission Possible Partnership and RMI, in collaboration with the Bezos Earth Fund are working to create a clean industrial hub in Texas to advance production of sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen and derivatives, and decarbonisation of heavy industries including cement and steel.

In partnership with

Supported by

Texas net-zero projects

Source MPP Global Project Tracker, November 2024

Texas, the industrial heartland

Texas is home to a large industrial supply, demand, and infrastructure network – with nearly a third of the USA’s refining and petrochemical processing capacity, the largest electricity generation capacity, thousands of miles of pipeline capacity, experienced workforce, and business-driven policy environment.

Texas is the number one industrial emitter in the United States. In fact, in 2022, industrial facilities in Texas released more than 330 million metric tons CO2, 23% of all industrial emissions in the United States.

The good news is that Texas is also home to the majority of proposed industrial decarbonisation and clean fuels development in the United States. As of November 2024, there were more than 20 public proposed or active decarbonisation projects in Texas spanning aviation, cement, chemicals, and trucking.

Decarbonising existing industries and developing new clean industries in Texas can create more than 21,000 jobs annually in the Houston region. In addition to the economic benefits, investments in electrification and energy efficiency measures could reduce Scope 1 emissions by 61%, 52 million mt CO2e, by 2050. Additional investments in hydrogen utilisation and carbon capture and storage (CCS) could enable the Houston region to reach net-zero by 2050. These investments not only promise economic growth but also position Texas as a global leader in industrial decarbonisation.

By capitalising on its successful leadership in the energy sector, coupled with its hydrogen and renewable power assets, and fast-growing energy and climate tech startup ecosystem, Texas can pioneer groundbreaking solutions and technologies that will enable it to lead the charge on industrial decarbonisation.

Accelerating low-carbon solutions in the Texas Gulf Coast

Mission Possible Partnership and RMI have been focused on accelerating low-carbon solutions for heavy industry by providing technical assistance to first-of-a-kind (FOAK) decarbonisation projects and developing the essential ecosystem of policy, finance, infrastructure, and community engagement needed for success in the Texas Gulf Coast.

Together we’ve provided technical assistance to eight proposed FOAK decarbonisation projects in Texas. This work included identifying and advancing decarbonisation pathways for existing industrial facilities, such as cement and steel plants, and accelerating production and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen and its derivatives to enable decarbonisation in the aviation, shipping, steel, and trucking sectors.

Low-emissions cement

Just 11 cement plants in Texas emitted over 8 million mt CO2e in 2023. Low-emissions and net-zero cement and concrete are essential for decarbonising existing industry in Texas. We developed an integrated site decarbonisation framework utilising three key levers -alternative fuels, SCMs, and CCS- to help a cement plant produce net zero emissions cement and concrete.

Electric trucking

Investments in green steel can revitalise industry in Texas. We advanced a cost-competitive green hydrogen pathway for low-emissions steel production.

Sustainable aviation fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel can help reduce aviation emissions by 50% or more. Texas’ legacy of refining presents an opportunity to produce SAF and other low-carbon fuels. We delivered techno-economic analysis of SAF production pathways including HEFA (hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids) and PtL (power-to-liquids) to help two companies identify ways to reduce carbon intensity and reach economic parity of finished SAF product. We conducted a pioneering study evaluating willingness-to-pay and green premium for SAF and SAF Certificates, helping project developers to build up financial models and proceed with site selection decision.

Green hydrogen and derivatives

Texas is forecast to produce 50% of the clean hydrogen that will be made in the United States. We developed value chain economics for hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol, and SAF supply chains identifying manageable premiums to end users. We also evaluated power procurement risks and challenges for a hypothetical green hydrogen project in Texas and proposed policy and market-based paths forward for green hydrogen.

Green shipping

Green shipping and ports are essential for decarbonising international marine transport and goods movement. We convened stakeholders and evaluated feasibility of a green shipping corridor between Houston and Rotterdam. We produced supply-demand outlook and a regulatory outlook for the supply market (US) and demand market (EU) for e-methanol. We created marginal abatement cost curves to be used to support offtake agreements.

The enabling ecosystem

Decarbonising heavy industry isn't just about technology—it's about creating the right ecosystem. By connecting policy, finance, infrastructure, and community interests, clean industrial hubs can break down barriers that slow industrial transformation. Our work provided practical tools and insights that help stakeholders navigate the complex path to cleaner industrial processes, making ambitious decarbonisation goals more achievable.

Policy and public funding

Policy support and public funding is critical to enabling industrial decarbonisation. We mapped the industrial permitting landscape for decarbonisation projects and identified solutions to challenges through stakeholder interviews. We created tools specific to the US market to help project developers, industrial companies, and investors discover the state and federal financial incentives that may be applicable to their industry and heavy transport projects.

Finance

Mobilising private capital is essential to helping decarbonisation projects reach a final investment decision and be built. We convened financial institutions and project finance experts to identify solutions to barriers for reaching final investment decision (FID) for hydrogen and SAF projects. We developed the Industrial Decarbonisation Investor database which catalogues over 200 institutions that have expressed interest in and/or closed transactions related to industrial decarbonisation.

Infrastructure

Midstream infrastructure -including electric transmission lines, hydrogen pipelines, and energy storage- is essential for clean energy to reach industrial facilities. Texas’ existing infrastructure network present an opportunity for the energy transition. We defined infrastructure requirements for the transport of clean energy materials within the US Gulf Coast and for export to Europe.

Community engagement

Equity and inclusive, two-way community engagement are essential in decarbonisation efforts by clean energy and infrastructure project developers. We developed frameworks, tools, and best practices for project developers, community-based organisations, and other stakeholders to collaborate in the development of critical Community Benefits Plans to capture value for local community groups and project developers and enhance project permitting approval processes.

Electrification

Electrification and energy efficiency can reduce industrial emissions in Texas by 60%. We analysed future decarbonisation pathways for heavy industry and the impacts on the electric grid from industrial electrification with the Houston Energy Transition Initiative.

More to explore

Check out our insights into the California Clean Industrial Hub here ↗

Contact our hubs team

Interested in technical assistance? Advancing decarbonisation pathways for ports and existing industrial facilities, adoption of clean hydrogen? Or do you need help in plotting the impact of industrial electrification on local infrastructure? Contact our Hubs team for help with this and more.

First Name

Last Name

Message