Working together toward a net-zero carbon future
Our founding partnership with Summit Carbon Solutions lays the groundwork for a CO2 network connecting dozens of biofuel producers to a large-scale carbon capture and sequestration system capable of carrying over 10 million tons of compressed CO2 annually to North Dakota for safe, long-term geologic storage. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by 12 million acres of U.S. forests in one year, according to the U.S. EPA.
This project has the potential to cut carbon intensity scores at participating plants in half, placing us firmly on a path toward a net-zero future. CCS aligns with the transformation of our platform to meet current and future needs, and our existing biorefineries are ideally situated to deploy it.
Notably, according to the latest data, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of conventional corn-based ethanol are already 46% lower than that of gasoline.
Advancing carbon capture and sequestration technology at scale
The corn plant is one of nature’s most abundant and efficient solar panels. It absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere while it grows, using the sun’s power to produce a starchy corn kernel while releasing oxygen. Our biorefinery platform’s fermentation process converts that starch into ethanol and nearly pure biogenic CO2, which is released back into the atmosphere to be absorbed again each year by the Midwest’s millions of acres of corn fields. Looking forward, harnessing CCS technology to capture and compress that CO2 stream and safely sequestering it places our biorefineries in the vanguard in the battle against climate change.
Green Plains is a global leader in leveraging innovative technologies to make essential ingredients the world needs.
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