ADM's 800,000-Ton Nebraska Bet on Carbon Removal Credits

ADM, a Chicago-based agricultural processor, plans to sell durable carbon removal credits from its operating carbon capture system in Columbus, Nebraska. The site has more than 800,000 tons of annual removal capacity, according to ADM. Carbon removal registry Puro.earth is certifying the credits. ADM expects initial issuance by the end of 2026, pending audit and verification.

This isn't a plant on the drawing board. The capture, pipeline, and storage chain has been running since November 2025. ADM is turning a working asset into verified removal supply.

What Is ADM Bringing to the Voluntary Carbon Removal Market?

ADM is bringing credits from an operating bioethanol CCS system with more than 800,000 tons of annual removal capacity. That number describes capacity, not credits already issued.

ADM announced the plan on September 21, 2026. The company calls Columbus the world's largest bioethanol carbon capture facility. It also expects the offering to rank among the largest of its kind to date.

Capture started in November 2025 with Tallgrass, a U.S. energy infrastructure company that operates pipelines and CO2 storage. After verification, a 15-year crediting period begins.

Columbus joins a growing group of ethanol-based removal projects. Red Trail Energy became the first ethanol plant to enter voluntary carbon markets under the same Puro methodology in 2024.

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How Does the Columbus Carbon Capture System Work?

The system captures biogenic CO2 from corn fermentation and sends it to Wyoming for permanent storage. Every stage is already operating.

Fermentation turns corn sugars into ethanol and releases a concentrated CO2 stream. Corn plants pulled that carbon from the air as they grew. Storing it permanently underground is what qualifies it as carbon removal.

ADM purifies and compresses the gas at Columbus. It then travels through Tallgrass' Trailblazer pipeline to the Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub.

Trailblazer is a converted 400-mile natural gas line running through Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming. It can carry more than 10 million tons of CO2 per year, according to ADM's November 2025 announcement.

Injection happens through CCS wells regulated under a Class VI permit from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. Wyoming is also home to ExxonMobil's LaBarge carbon capture and storage expansion. It's part of how America's carbon storage map is being redrawn toward the interior.

Who Is Certifying ADM's Carbon Removal Credits?

Puro.earth, a Finland-based carbon removal standard and registry majority-owned by Nasdaq, is certifying the credits. It's using its Geologically Stored Carbon methodology, Edition 2024.

Puro issues CO2 Removal Certificates, called CORCs, for carbon stored at least 100 years. Each CORC equals one tonne of CO2 removed. Puro also certified the world's first biogas BECCS carbon removal project in Norway this year.

Jan-Willem Bode also said the third-party audit had gone smoothly. He credited the team ADM built around the Columbus asset.

Other registries are opening doors too. ACR's updated CCS rules added BECCS as an eligible project type in May 2026.

>> RELATED: IEA Report Highlights: A New Era of Carbon Capture Momentum

Why Does 800,000 Tons a Year Matter for Durable Removal Supply?

Columbus could add steady supply to a market where delivered removals still trail purchases. Its annual capacity alone is more than twice the durable CDR delivered worldwide in 2024.

Buyers purchased almost 8 million tonnes of durable CDR in 2024, according to CDR.fyi, a carbon removal market data platform. Deliveries reached 318,600 tonnes that year, a 120% jump from 2023.

BECCS was the top-selling method in 2024, per the same CDR.fyi review. Ethanol BECCS is already producing credits at commercial scale.

• Gevo's live BECCS project in North Dakota handles about 180,000 tons of CO2 per year.
• Frontier and Wild Assets signed for up to 120,000 tonnes of removals from ethanol CO2 to be stored in Wyoming.

Date	Columbus Milestone
May 2022	Tallgrass and ADM agree to capture Columbus CO2 for Wyoming storage
November 10, 2025	Carbon capture and storage operations begin at Columbus
September 21, 2026	ADM announces planned entry into the voluntary carbon removal market
By end of 2026 (expected)	Initial credit certification and issuance, pending audit
After verification	15-year crediting period begins

A 15-year crediting window gives buyers a long planning horizon. That matters for companies building multi-year removal portfolios.

Which Industries Could Buy Columbus Credits?

ADM is targeting buyers in technology, finance, aviation, and pharmaceuticals. The company hasn't announced any buyers for the Columbus credits yet.

ADM says it already works with customers inside its own value chains on climate goals. The new offering extends that work to companies outside agriculture.

Aviation is a natural match. Some carriers, like United, pair sustainable aviation fuel investments with carbon removal in their climate plans.

Tech buyers still anchor demand. Microsoft, Google, and Frontier buyers made up more than 75% of 2024 durable CDR purchases, according to CDR.fyi.

What Track Record Does ADM Bring from Decatur?

ADM has operated CCS wells in Decatur, Illinois, for more than a decade. It was the first American company granted an EPA Class VI CCS well permit, according to ADM.

ADM reports sequestering about 4.5 million metric tons of CO2 at Decatur over the past decade. The site injects fermentation CO2 more than 5,550 feet underground.

Kris Lutt said that Decatur experience, paired with Tallgrass' transport and storage system, lets ADM connect farm production with carbon removal markets at scale. The Columbus credits apply that experience to the voluntary carbon removal market.

Verification Is the Next Milestone for Columbus

The capture, pipeline, and storage pieces are already running. Audit completion and first issuance are what's left, and ADM expects both before year-end.

If that timeline holds, Columbus' 800,000-plus tons of yearly capacity could become a steady new source of verified durable removal for North American buyers.

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