ADM plans entry into VCM with 800,000 tons of carbon removal capacity
The company will generate carbon credits from its carbon capture and storage (CCS) operations at its corn processing complex in Columbus, Nebraska, the world’s largest bioethanol carbon capture facility.
USA – ADM is preparing to enter the voluntary carbon dioxide removal market with more than 800,000 tonnes of annual carbon removal capacity from its carbon capture operations at the company’s corn processing complex in Columbus, Nebraska.
The planned carbon credit offering is expected to become one of the largest of its kind, with initial credits targeted for issuance by the end of 2026, subject to completion of certification and third-party verification.
The credits will be generated from biogenic carbon dioxide captured during ethanol fermentation at ADM’s Columbus facility.
The captured CO₂ is purified and compressed before being transported through infrastructure operated by energy company Tallgrass to the Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub, where it is stored permanently underground through carbon capture and storage (CCS) wells regulated under a Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Class VI permit.
ADM and Tallgrass inaugurated the Columbus carbon capture and storage operation in 2025. ADM describes the facility as the world’s largest bioethanol carbon capture facility, with a removal capacity exceeding 800,000 tonnes annually.
The project links corn processing and ethanol production with carbon management infrastructure, creating a pathway to store biogenic emissions generated during industrial processing permanently.
The carbon removal credits are currently undergoing certification by Puro.earth under its 2024 Geologically Stored Carbon methodology.
Pending the completion of an independent third-party audit, the initial issuance of high-integrity credits is expected by the end of the year.
Once verified, ADM will initiate a 15-year crediting period for the Columbus complex, establishing one of the largest single-asset engineered carbon dioxide removal offerings available on the global market to date.
The commercial expansion allows ADM to market verified removal credits to corporate buyers across diverse sectors, including technology, finance, aviation, and pharmaceuticals, seeking to offset hard-to-abate Scope 3 emissions.
Executive leadership highlighted that the initiative connects agricultural processing to the rapidly expanding carbon economy, leveraging ADM’s decades of technical experience in geologic storage to deliver investment-grade climate solutions.
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