Absolute Energy to collaborate with Summit Carbon Solutions in CCS project

Summit Carbon Solutions will remove and permanently sequester 370,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from Absolute Energy, an ethanol plant located in Sain Ansgar, Iowa.

The carbon capture specialist’s new partnership will see Absolute Energy join the expanding network of ethanol plants that are part of Summit Carbon Solutions’ carbon capture and storage project.

Believed to be the world’s largest of its kind, Summit Carbon Solutions’ project spans Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota and will ultimately sequester up to 18 million metric tonnes of CO2 per year.

Rich Schwarck, CEO of Absolute Energy, said the placement of the facility, coupled with the company’s endeavour to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, finds a parallel mission with Summit Carbon Solutions.

“It fills us with a sense of purpose and satisfaction to team up with Summit on this critical mission of carbon capture and storage,” he added.

Absolute Energy has been operational since 2008 and produces approximately 130 million gallons per year of ethanol. Ethanol is the single-largest by-product source of carbon dioxide (CO2) supplying the merchant CO2 industry in the US.

News of the partnership follows Summit Carbon Solutions’ recent deal with NuGen Energy, a South Dakota producer, and its success in acquiring 70% of its pipeline route through voluntary easements with nearly 2,500 landowners.

34 ethanol plants across the Midwest are now part of Summit Carbon Solutions’ project.

The company’s investment will capture CO2 from the fermentation process of biorefineries such as ethanol plants, compress the captured CO2, and channel it to North Dakota where it will be permanently and safely stored underground in deep geologic storage locations.

With this, it is hoped the company will drastically reduce the carbon footprint of ethanol production and enhance the long-term economic viability of the ethanol and agricultural industries.