ADM carbon removal credits to tap 800,000 tons a year in landmark market entry

ADM will sell carbon removal credits generated at its Columbus, Nebraska, corn processing complex, the company said on September 21, marking its entry into the voluntary carbon dioxide removal market. The Columbus site has an annual capture capacity of more than 800,000 tons, which ADM calls the largest bioethanol carbon capture facility in the world.

The ADM carbon removal credits are being certified and issued by Puro.earth under its Geologically Stored Carbon methodology (Edition 2024). Initial issuance is expected by the end of the year, pending audit completion, after which a 15-year crediting period begins, according to the company’s announcement.

The model captures biogenic CO2 released during ethanol fermentation. ADM, working with energy infrastructure firm Tallgrass, purifies and compresses the gas and sends it to Tallgrass’s Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub for permanent storage. The two companies began capture and storage operations at Columbus in 2025. ADM also operates Class VI injection wells at its Decatur, Illinois, facility.

Kris Lutt, ADM’s vice president of innovation and growth, said the company’s decade of carbon storage experience positions it to connect agricultural production with carbon removal markets at scale.

For the fertilizer sector, the deal sets a price-discovery benchmark for agricultural CO2 streams. Ammonia producers capturing process CO2, such as Yara at its 800,000-ton Sluiskil facility, will watch how buyers value credits from fermentation-grade biogenic carbon.