The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a final Class VI permit for a carbon capture and storage project in Indiana, clearing the way for developer Vault 44.01 and its partner Cardinal Ethanol to begin construction of what they say will be the state’s first such facility.
The project, part of the One Carbon Partnership near Union City in Randolph County, will capture CO2 from ethanol production and inject it deep underground for permanent storage.
“This is a defining moment for Vault and Cardinal Ethanol and a powerful validation of Vault’s technical expertise, commitment to stakeholder engagement, and disciplined approach to project execution,” said Scott Rennie, President and CEO of Vault.
The EPA approval places the project within a small but growing cohort of federally permitted geologic sequestration sites. Class VI permits are required for long-term carbon dioxide storage in deep rock formations, a regulatory category the agency has been developing as more industrial carbon capture proposals move into permitting pipelines.
“The EPA’s approval underscores our project’s soundness, its community support, and reinforces our commitment to value creation for our owners and neighbors. Together with Vault, we are taking an important step toward a zero-emission liquid fuel solution,” added Rob Davis, Chairman of Cardinal Ethanol’s Board of Directors.
According to project disclosures, the Indiana facility represents more than $60 million in investment and is expected to support more than 30 construction jobs. Once operational, it is designed to store up to 450,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, with total capacity projected at roughly 13.5 million metric tons over 30 years.
The announcement underscores Indiana’s emerging role in the Midwest carbon capture buildout, particularly around ethanol production, where carbon dioxide streams are relatively high-purity and easier to capture.
The prospects of carbon capture in Indiana
The Vault 44.01 approval comes amid a broader expansion of carbon capture and storage projects across Indiana and neighboring Midwest states, where ethanol plants, fertilizer facilities and industrial emitters are increasingly targeting geologic storage as a compliance and decarbonization strategy.
Earlier EPA actions have already cleared construction for other Indiana-based Class VI projects, including Wabash Carbon Services (a Wabash Valley Resources subsidiary) wells in Vermillion and Vigo counties, which are designed to store CO2 captured from fertilizer production. That project signaled the first wave of large-scale sequestration infrastructure in the state, though it remains in earlier stages of development than the Vault-led ethanol partnership.
Across the Midwest, developers are pursuing similar projects tied to agricultural and industrial CO2 streams, reflecting a broader national trend in which carbon capture proposals have accelerated under federal incentives and regulatory clarity.
Federal Slowdown
At the federal level, EPA Class VI permitting activity has remained relatively limited but expanding, with only a small number of projects moving through final approval or advanced review at any given time. Agency data show a multi-year pipeline of applications under review, reflecting both technical scrutiny and lengthy geological and monitoring requirements associated with permanent storage sites.
The Indiana approvals arrive as other states push to assume permitting authority from the EPA, a shift that could reshape timelines for future projects. Texas recently received federal approval to manage its own Class VI permitting program, a move expected to speed up applications there, while potentially redirecting federal workload toward remaining EPA-administered states.
Industry analysts say Indiana’s early projects are likely to serve as a test case for Midwest CCS deployment, particularly as developers weigh geology, pipeline infrastructure and community acceptance against the economics of ethanol-linked carbon capture.
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