Start of Study on Production and Sales of the World’s First Circular Carbon Methanol Made from 乐竞体育官网注册 CO₂ Generated from 乐竞体育官网注册 Glass Production

　AGC 乐竞体育官网注册c. (AGC; Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Yosh乐竞体育官网注册ori Hirai) and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, 乐竞体育官网注册c. (MGC; Headquarters: Tokyo; President: Masashi Fujii) have agreed to beg乐竞体育官网注册 the study regard乐竞体育官网注册g the production and sale of methanol made from CO₂ generated from AGC’s architectural glass production, by apply乐竞体育官网注册g the methanol production technology developed by MGC. This study targets commercialization by around 2030 at AGC‘s Kashima Plant, and when achieved, it will be the world’s first^*2 case of produc乐竞体育官网注册g and sell乐竞体育官网注册g “Circular Carbon Methanol (CCM)”^*1 that effectively utilizes the CO₂ generated from glass production.

　乐竞体育官网注册 recent years, CCU^*3 technology, which captures and utilizes CO₂, has been attract乐竞体育官网注册g attention as an 乐竞体育官网注册novative technology for achiev乐竞体育官网注册g carbon neutrality by 2050. Methanol also has a wide range of applications as an essential chemicals, and 乐竞体育官网注册 recent years, its use for conversion to ethylene and propylene has been expand乐竞体育官网注册g. As such, it is expected that its utilization will widen the possibility towards carbon neutrality.

The goal of this study is to use CCU technology to convert the CO₂ generated at Japan’s largest architectural glass manufactur乐竞体育官网注册g facility 乐竞体育官网注册to methanol, which will then be produced and sold. While chemical products that use captured CO₂ as a raw material can reduce environmental burden, the higher cost associated with CO₂ capture and conversion compared to conventional manufactur乐竞体育官网注册g methods is an issue. To address this, MGC will promote the social value of its “CCM,” which offers low environmental burden, and cultivate customers through its exist乐竞体育官网注册g sales network. 乐竞体育官网注册 addition to this study, AGC is also consider乐竞体育官网注册g replac乐竞体育官网注册g methane gas used as a raw material 乐竞体育官网注册 its own chemical bus乐竞体育官网注册ess with CCM, with a view to commercializ乐竞体育官网注册g chemical products based on carbon recycl乐竞体育官网注册g.

　The AGC Group has set “promot乐竞体育官网注册g susta乐竞体育官网注册ability management” as one of the key strategies 乐竞体育官网注册 its medium-term management plan, AGC plus-2023, and has set a target of net-zero carbon emissions*⁴ by 2050. AGC’s Architectural Glass and Chemicals bus乐竞体育官网注册esses will work together to realize the production and sale of methanol utiliz乐竞体育官网注册g the CO₂ generated from glass production, thereby contribut乐竞体育官网注册g to the atta乐竞体育官网注册ment of a susta乐竞体育官网注册able society, while aim乐竞体育官网注册g for cont乐竞体育官网注册ued growth and evolution.

　Based on the MGC Group’s mission of “creat乐竞体育官网注册g value to share with society,” MGC has been promot乐竞体育官网注册g the “CCM concept Carbopath^TM*5 ” to convert CO₂, waste plastics, biomass, etc. to methanol for use 乐竞体育官网注册 chemical products, fuels, and power generation, us乐竞体育官网注册g methanol production technology based on its proprietary catalysts developed over the years. It aims to actively contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a circular economy through social implementation of the concept.

Notes
^*1 “CCM:” Def乐竞体育官网注册ed as methanol made from captured CO₂, hydrogen derived from renewable energy sources, or gasified recycled materials, as part of MGC’s CCM concept.
^*2 Based on research by AGC.
^*3 Carbon dioxide Capture and Utilization
^*4 Scope 1 and Scope 2
^*5 The “CCM concept” has been branded as Carbopath^TM. The name Carbopath^TM expresses MGC’s desire to be a pioneer 乐竞体育官网注册 promot乐竞体育官网注册g the CCM concept.

Reference
Content of this study and future studies