Gevo, Inc. reached a major milestone in its planned $210 million acquisition of Red Trail Energy’s ethanol production and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) assets in Richardton, North Dakota.
Earlier this week equity holders of Red Trail Energy overwhelmingly approved the deal, moving it closer to completion. The transaction is expected to close by Q1 2025, is subject to regulatory approvals, financing, and other closing conditions.
“On behalf of the entire team at Gevo, and our board of directors, stakeholders, shareholders, investors, and customers and industry partners, we would like to thank the equity holders of Red Trail Energy for approving the acquisition,” said Gevo CEO, Dr. Patrick Gruber. “With this investment, Gevo will be set on a path to becoming self-sustaining and profitable as a company in advance of our Net-Zero 1 project coming online. This acquisition also enables an ideal location for a ‘Net-Zero North’ plant to produce sustainable aviation fuel. It also mitigates risk around carbon sequestration for our Net-Zero 1 plant site in South Dakota.”
Gevo will have a total sequestration capacity of 1 million metric tons per year that includes 160,000 metric tons currently being used by Red Trail.
Once finalized, the agreement will position Gevo to accelerate the production of advanced liquid fuels and chemicals, capitalizing on growing demand for sustainable energy solutions and chemicals from a broad range of industries but primarily those in transportation and aviation.
Gevo President and COO Dr. Chris Ryan added: “The CCS well gives us optionality for our Net-Zero-1 carbon sequestration as well as regional synergies with Net-Zero 1, under development in Lake Preston, South Dakota, our development facility in Luverne, Minnesota, and our renewable natural gas operations in Northwest Iowa. As Net-Zero 1 and other production facilities come online, the infrastructure and resources that we will have acquired in North Dakota offer tremendous flexibility for how we might operate in the area.”
The agreement will also allow Gevo to tap into revenue from carbon credits which are expected to be readily available in the near to mid-term. Back in March 2024 Red Trail announced it became the first ethanol plant to generate credits after working with EcoEngineers and Puro.earth who registered the credits under its Puro Standard.
Read more: Red Trail Energy Becomes First Ethanol Plant To Generate Carbon Credits
