Worldwide production capacities of carbon-based chemicals and associated products are steadily increasing. At the same time the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide is of paramount importance in order to mitigate the anthropogenic impact of climate change. In Carbon2Chem (R) a cross industrial network develops concepts towards the utilization of steel mill gases for the sustainable production of green base chemicals, including methanol. This Review describes the technological challenges emerging from the use of these alternative feedstocks, specifically in the context of methanol production processes.