DALLAS, TX – Celanese Corp., a global technology and specialty materials company, announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Celanese Far East Limited, has signed letters of intent to construct and operate industrial ethanol production facilities in Nanjing, China, at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park and in Zhuhai, China, at the Gaolan Port Economic Zone.

Pending project approvals, Celanese could begin industrial ethanol production within the next 30 months, with an initial nameplate capacity of 400,000 tons per year per plant and an initial investment of approximately $300 million per plant. The company is pursuing approval at two locations to ensure its ability to effectively grow with future demand.

The projects will use Celanese’s newly developed advanced technology to produce industrial ethanol. This new process combines Celanese’s proprietary acetyl platform with highly advanced manufacturing technology to produce ethanol from hydrocarbon-sourced feedstocks. To meet future demand, Celanese’s technology also allows capacity at each facility to be more than doubled at significantly less than the original investment.

Industrial ethanol is used in chemical and industrial applications for the manufacture of paints, coatings, inks and pharmaceuticals. Current demand for industrial ethanol in China is approximately three million tons annually and is expected to grow between 8 percent and 10 percent per year.