Fairway Methanol low carbon CCU methanol wins ISCC CFC certification

The International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) recently certified Fairway Methanol’s low carbon carbon capture and utilization (CCU) methanol under the ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) system.

Fairway Methanol is a joint venture between Japanese sogo shosha Mitsui & Co. and Celanese Corporation, the US-based specialty materials and chemical company.

As informed, the newly certified low carbon CCU methanol demonstrates a greater than 70% reduction in carbon footprint relative to a global average benchmark for fossil-based methanol production, as included in EU legislation.

Celanese began operating one of the largest active CCU facilities in the world at its Clear Lake, Texas, site in January 2024. The project is expected to capture 180,000 metric tons of CO2 industrial emissions and produce 130,000 metric tons of low-carbon methanol per year.

Specifically, CCU takes CO2 industrial emissions that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere and applies reduced-carbon-intensity hydrogen to chemically convert the captured CO2 into a methanol building block used for downstream production.

“We’re proud to be the first to receive ISCC CFC certification for CCU materials, which allows us to strengthen our ability to offer customers a wider range of lower-carbon footprint products,” Kevin Norfleet, global sustainability director, Acetyls at Celanese, said.

The ISCC CFC system establishes a structure and methodology to validate appropriate accounting for the CO2 capture benefits of the CCU process as well as tracking sustainable feedstocks using the mass balance system.

“We have observed an increasing interest, especially from the chemical industry, in certifying the carbon footprint of their products and making credible claims towards their customers. With our new carbon footprint certification, we provide the respective solution. For us, the integration of CCU and CCS into the new certification is only the start. Step-by-step, we will optimize the scheme together with our stakeholders and taking into account existing standards,” Jan Henke, director ISCC and MEO Carbon Solutions, commented.