Red Trail Energy near Richardton, North Dakota, is being acquired by Gevo, a company that develops sustainable aviation fuel. (Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor)
Shareholders of North Dakota-based Red Trail Energy have approved the sale of its ethanol plant and carbon capture and storage to Colorado-based Gevo, which plans to make sustainable jet fuel at the site and another in South Dakota.
Gevo announced in September that it had a deal to buy Red Trail Energy in Richardton in southwestern North Dakota for $210 million.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, Gevo said in a press release announcing the decision on Wednesday. Gevo said there was “overwhelming approval” from Red Trail shareholders.
Gevo is developing a sustainable jet fuel plant in Lake Preston, South Dakota. Gevo hopes to use the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline for carbon capture and storage, but Summit has yet to obtain a permit for its pipeline in South Dakota.
Patrick Gruber, CEO of Gevo, said in a press release that the purchase of Red Trail “reduces the risk around carbon sequestration for our Net-Zero 1 factory site in South Dakota.”
The Red Trail site ensures that Gevo will have a carbon capture and storage facility if that is not an option in South Dakota.
Red Trail was the first ethanol plant in the country to capture carbon from the fermentation process as corn is converted into ethanol. The captured carbon is stored permanently underground near the plant, taking advantage of western North Dakota’s geology suitable for carbon sequestration.
“The infrastructure and resources we will have acquired in North Dakota provide tremendous flexibility,” Gruber said.
Low-carbon ethanol is the basis for sustainable aviation fuel. The ethanol industry is hopeful that low-carbon liquid biofuels will command a higher price, ultimately benefiting corn growers.
Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has secured pipeline permits in Iowa and North Dakota, and approval for a short section of the Minnesota route could happen Thursday. Summit’s route also includes Nebraska, which has no state agency that issues carbon pipeline permits.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission will consider the Summit carbon storage site plan on Thursday.
This story was originally published by the North Dakota Monitor. Like South Dakota Searchlight, it is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. North Dakota Monitor maintains editorial independence. If you have any questions, please contact editor Amy Dalrymple: info@northdakotamonitor.com.
