Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry

The US chemical industry, specifically the production of hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, ethylene, propylene, and benzene, accounts for a significant portion of industrial emissions. RMI identifies 20 emissions reduction levers, 10 of which are commercially viable today and could reduce sector emissions by 34%. With additional policy and infrastructure support, this near-term reduction could reach 48%. The report emphasizes that while supply-side interventions like carbon capture and methane leak mitigation are critical, they must be paired with demand-side measures and long-term innovation in electrification and alternative feedstocks to achieve a net-zero sector by 2050.

• The production of six primary chemicals—hydrogen, ammonia, methanol, ethylene, propylene, and benzene—accounts for approximately 65% of the US chemical industry's emissions.
• Ten emissions reduction levers are currently commercially viable and could reduce current sector emissions by 34%, though deployment is hindered by infrastructure, costs, and permitting.
• Implementing four specific policy and infrastructure improvements—increasing the 45Q tax credit to $95/metric ton, enhancing methane leak mitigation, increasing mechanical recycling rates, and bringing blue hydrogen to cost parity with grey hydrogen—could unlock an additional 14% in near-term emissions reductions, totaling 48%.
• Cleaner operations, specifically methane leak mitigation and high-purity carbon capture, offer the highest near-term potential, with the ability to reduce sector emissions by 16% in the short term.
• Decarbonizing process heat is a major challenge due to high temperature requirements; while low-temperature projects could reduce emissions by 2% near-term, high-temperature processes require technologies like e-crackers that are not yet cost-competitive.
• Alternative production methods, such as electrolysis for hydrogen, have the highest maximum potential for emissions reduction (up to 95%) but require significant capital investment and a massive increase in zero-emissions power.
• Upstream methane leakage is significantly underestimated in official inventories; RMI's model assumes a US average leakage rate of 2.2%, resulting in baseline emissions of 178 MMT CO2e for the six primary chemicals.
• Supply-side reductions alone are insufficient for net-zero; demand-side measures such as reducing single-use plastics and implementing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies are essential.

APA

RMI (2025). Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry. https://rmi.org/resources/chemistry-in-transition-charting-solutions-for-a-low-emissions-chemical-industry/

Chicago

RMI. Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry. 2025. https://rmi.org/resources/chemistry-in-transition-charting-solutions-for-a-low-emissions-chemical-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry |date=17 January 2025 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/chemistry-in-transition-charting-solutions-for-a-low-emissions-chemical-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2025chemistry, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Chemistry in Transition: Charting solutions for a low-emissions chemical industry}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/chemistry-in-transition-charting-solutions-for-a-low-emissions-chemical-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }