Clariant Catalysts cut 45 million tons of customer CO2e in 2025

Emission reductions mainly due to use of catalysts for: direct reduced iron production, nitrous oxide abatement in nitric acid production, refinery off-gas purification and syngas production

Clariant, a specialty chemical company focused on sustainability, announced that its catalysts achieved significantly higher emission reductions in 2025 compared to 2024. The company's catalytic technologies helped avoid 45 million tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) in greenhouse gas emissions, marking a 5 million-ton increase year-over-year.

The company achieved significant emission reductions through innovative technologies, including reforming catalysts for direct reduced iron (DRI) and nitrous oxide abatement for nitric acid plants. Additionally, their syngas catalysts enable green methanol production using renewable electrolytic hydrogen or bio-feedstocks.

Additionally, Clariant's catalysts for refinery off-gas purification contributed to these avoided emissions, helping refineries and crude-to-chemical complexes reduce their environmental footprint. The DRI process, as one example, has only half of the CO2 intensity compared to conventional steel production.

Jens Cuntze, President of Clariant Catalysts, commented, "Enabling a cleaner, more sustainable future remains one of our core focus areas as we support complex-to-abate industries through continuous innovation. Our sustainability efforts cover the full value chain—from reducing our own direct and indirect emissions to creating solutions that help our customers lower theirs.”

Richard Haldimann, Chief Strategy & Technology Officer at Clariant, added, “Ambitious climate goals can be greatly accelerated through collaborations with producers and industry partners. The success of these low carbon processes is based on leading edge technology allowing for economically attractive CO2 savings.”

While the majority of carbon savings come from established industrial processes, novel and unconventional applications are gaining increasing attention. Last year marked a significant milestone with the successful startup of two lighthouse green methanol projects: European Energy's e-methanol plant, which converts biogenic CO2 and green hydrogen using our MegaMax catalysts, and Shanghai Electric's bio-methanol facility that uses farm waste to produce methanol, both demonstrating the commercial viability of sustainable methanol production at scale. As frontrunners in this transformation, Clariant's catalysts are already enabling the production of greener chemicals today, paving the way for a lower-carbon future.

Green methanol is one of the many carbon-neutral technologies Clariant supports. In line with their philosophy of “Greater chemistry – between people and planet,” the company is committed to accelerating the energy transition by transforming its product portfolio and operations to solve global challenges. Through continuous investment in catalyst solutions, Clariant strives to advance decarbonization in the chemical and fuel industries.