Quantified Emissions Tokens® Minted and Delivered to Evonik in Methanol Industry-First

Digital tokens minted using the EarnDLT platform contain the attributes of 1000 MT of methanol produced by Proman and sold by Valenz to Evonik

Proman, and its marketing arm Valenz, have delivered the first Quantified Emissions Tokens ® (QETs) to Evonik, a leading speciality chemicals company, providing an immutable digital record of the attributes of the 1000 MT of methanol purchased.

The QETs, minted by leading SaaS provider EarnDLT, contain information such as the  origin of the product, which was produced at Proman’s International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) EU/PLUS certified facility in Pampa, Texas. In future, the tokens will contain the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) and other attributes required by Evonik to correctly record its own Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data. All data will be independently verified by SCS Global.

Kirstin Kettler, Global Director of Marketing at Valenz, said: “We are excited to run this trial with our partner Evonik. Methanol tokens will enable our customers to track their supply chain and the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of the product they buy, reduce bureaucracy, because the information is stored digitally, and manage their compliance requirements and sustainability targets.”

The QETs were transferred from Proman (methanol production), to Valenz (methanol marketing) and then arrived in the digital wallet of Evonik (the methanol buyer) upon purchase.

Tim Cornelius, Managing Director, Corporate Development at Proman, said: “Regulatory requirements and the global swing to circularity increases pressure for transparency, and this transparency will be forced onto the entire chemicals sector, not just specific product clusters.

“As a result, we have been working with EarnDLT for many months to design these tokens specifically for the chemicals and fuels market. Using blockchain, as opposed to relying on third parties, EarnDLT maintains tamper-resistant databases for commodities linked transactions such as this one, to convert the value of a physical asset into a token that can be retired, sold or exchanged on a network. I’m delighted that we have been able to deliver the first methanol tokens on their platform, which paves the way for tokenisation to become an integral part of future methanol transactions.”

Aaron Lohmann, Co-founder and CEO at EarnDLT, said: “EarnDLT’s Quantified Emissions Tokens utilize the latest technology and will store independently-measured and validated emissions data on a trustworthy private blockchain. This approach provides downstream buyers, such as Evonik, with the confidence that the environmental attributes they purchase have not been double counted and can be easily retired for fully-compliant reporting purposes within the U.S. and the EU.”

Paula Ramirez-Weyershausen, Senior Vice President Procurement at Evonik, said: “At Evonik, we aim to lead the way in embedding sustainable practices within the chemical industry. The use of Quantified Emissions Tokens is a significant step towards transparency and accountability in our supply chain, and we are grateful to have partners who share our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint. This innovative approach to tracking emissions, as well as other aspects such as the country of origin, not only has the potential to become an essential component of future transactions but also extends to our products, aiming to create added value and enhance transparency for our clients. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners to drive positive change in the industry and build a more sustainable future.”

Proman is committed to developing lower-carbon and green methanol as a cleaner alternative to traditional fossil feedstocks and fuels. The EarnDLT platform unlocks the ability to share quantified and verified emissions data related to its production with customers in a secure and trusted medium, helping a range of sectors, including chemicals, transportation and power generation, to measure and report on their efforts to decarbonise operations and production.