Newly Certified Methanol Demonstrates a Greater than 70% Reduction in Carbon Footprint

As part of its Fairway Methanol joint venture with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global specialty materials and chemical company, today announced that the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) has certified its Low Carbon CCU (carbon capture and utilization) Methanol under the ISCC Carbon Footprint Certification (CFC) system. 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. By leveraging CCU, Celanese now offers customers low-carbon options across its Acetyl Chain and Engineered Materials products under the ECO-CC name. 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,” said Kevin Norfleet, global sustainability director, Acetyls at Celanese. “This is another industry-leading step Celanese has taken to provide third-party validation of sustainable product benefits while helping our customers to meet the growing demand for more sustainable solutions.”

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 of sustainable feedstocks using the mass balance system.

Jan Henke, director ISCC and MEO Carbon Solutions, emphasized the importance of this collaborative effort: “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.”

For more information about the Celanese Acetyl Chain, visit https://www.celanese.com/about-us/acetyls.

About Celanese

Celanese is a global leader in chemistry, producing specialty material solutions used across most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use our chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees and shareholders. We are committed to sustainability by responsibly managing the materials we create for their entire lifecycle and are growing our portfolio of sustainable products to meet increasing customer and societal demand. We strive to make a positive impact in our communities and to foster inclusivity across our teams. Celanese is a Fortune 500 company that employs approximately 12,400 employees worldwide with 2023 net sales of $10.9 billion.

About the CCU Project

In January 2024, Celanese began running a carbon capture and utilization (CCU) project at its Clear Lake, Texas, site as part of its Fairway Methanol joint venture with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. 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.

Celanese is actively leveraging CCU to offer low-carbon options across its Acetyl Chain and Engineered Materials products to help global customers meet the growing demand for more sustainable and circular solutions. The products are found under the ECO-CC name and are transparently supported through mass balance tracking and life cycle assessment processes.

About Mitsui

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031: JP) is a global trading and investment company with a presence in more than 60 countries and a diverse business portfolio covering a wide range of industries. Mitsui identifies, develops, and grows its businesses in partnership with a global network of trusted partners including world leading companies, combining its geographic and cross-industry strengths to create long-term sustainable value for its stakeholders.

Mitsui has set three key strategic initiatives for its current Medium-term Management Plan: supporting industries to grow and evolve with stable supplies of resources and materials, and providing infrastructure; promoting a global transition to low-carbon and renewable energy; and empowering people to lead healthy lives through the delivery of quality healthcare and access to good nutrition.

Visit www.mitsui.com for more information.

About ISCC

ISCC, International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, is a leading international certification system for fully traceable, sustainable, deforestation-free and climate-friendly supply chains. ISCC certifications are widely recognized, covering sustainable agricultural biomass, biogenic wastes and residues, non-biological renewable materials and recycled carbon-based materials. The latest developments include the introduction of the new Carbon Footprint Certification that enables the certification of product carbon footprints for various products and value chains. The development and implementation of certification standards is the basic tool to promote the ISCC's mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bring more sustainability to global markets and supply chains. To date, 13.200 valid ISCC certificates are used in 138 countries.

For more information visit: https://www.iscc-system.org/.

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