Nebraska's Cornfields Now Feed World's Largest Bioethanol CCS

The world's largest bioethanol carbon capture facility just flipped the switch in Columbus, Nebraska. ADM and Tallgrass marked the start of operations for a project that connects corn processing to permanent underground carbon storage across three states. This isn't a pilot or a demo, it's a full-scale operational system capturing CO₂ from ethanol production right now.

The facility uses the Trailblazer pipeline, a converted 400-mile natural gas line, to move captured carbon from ADM's Columbus plant to Tallgrass' Eastern Wyoming Sequestration Hub. The pipeline can transport more than 10 million tons of CO₂ annually, equivalent to taking about 2 million passenger vehicles off the road. That's roughly 25% of all registered motor vehicles in Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska combined.

>> RELATED: ADM, Tallgrass Celebrate Opening Of World’s Largest Bioethanol Carbon Capture Facility In Columbus, Nebraska

How Infrastructure Repurposing Powers Scale

What makes this project smart is how it leverages existing assets. Tallgrass converted a natural gas transmission pipeline rather than building new infrastructure from scratch. This approach minimized environmental impact, cut construction timelines, and reduced the need for new land easements.

The pipeline runs through Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, creating a regional backbone for CO₂ transportation. Tallgrass constructed a lateral line connecting ADM's facility using only voluntary easements from landowners. This kind of community-first approach helps advance large-scale infrastructure without bulldozing through local concerns.

ADM's Decade-Long CCS Leadership

ADM isn't new to carbon capture. The company has been operating carbon capture and storage systems for more than a decade. Their Illinois facilities have already stored over 3.5 million metric tons of CO₂, setting the groundwork for this larger Nebraska deployment.

The Columbus facility represents an expansion of that expertise. ADM sees CCS as central to meeting customer demand for low-carbon ingredients, especially as food and agriculture companies face pressure to reduce Scope 3 emissions. This project allows ADM to deliver products with significantly lower carbon intensity.

Why Bioethanol CCS Matters for Agriculture

Bioethanol plants produce highly concentrated CO₂ streams during fermentation. This makes them ideal candidates for carbon capture because the CO₂ is already separated from other gases. The purity and concentration mean capture technology can work more efficiently and at a lower cost compared to other industrial sources.

For agriculture-heavy states like Nebraska, bioethanol CCS creates a pathway to decarbonize while maintaining economic activity. Corn growers, ethanol producers, and rural communities can participate in the low-carbon economy without dismantling existing industries. The Nebraska Farm Bureau supported the project specifically because it adds value to ethanol production while addressing climate concerns.

This model could expand across the Midwest. According to industry analysis, more than 270 publicly announced carbon capture projects are underway across North America, representing $77.5 billion in capital investment. Bioethanol facilities are strong candidates for near-term deployment because of their CO₂ characteristics and regional clustering.

The Regional Impact

The Columbus project doesn't just benefit ADM. The Trailblazer pipeline has significant spare capacity beyond ADM's needs, creating opportunities for other emitters in the region to connect. Tallgrass designed the system to serve as regional infrastructure, allowing third-party customers to plug in and move captured CO₂ to permanent storage.

This hub-and-spoke model mirrors successful approaches in other regions. Wyoming's carbon hub development is attracting multiple projects, while Louisiana's Class VI permitting advances are creating similar regional ecosystems. The infrastructure can outlast any single project and serve future carbon management needs.

Connecting to Broader Decarbonization Trends

The Columbus facility arrives as the carbon capture industry matures from demonstration to deployment. Projects like Occidental's STRATOS direct air capture facility and Louisiana's industrial CCS hubs show different pathways to the same goal: reducing atmospheric CO₂ at scale.

Bioethanol CCS occupies a sweet spot in the carbon management landscape. It's cheaper than direct air capture, it uses proven technology, and it creates immediate emissions reductions. For companies looking to meet net-zero commitments, low-carbon ethanol opens doors across multiple industries.

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What This Means for Low-Carbon Fuels

ADM's captured CO₂ doesn't just disappear underground. The company has positioned itself at the intersection of carbon capture and low-carbon fuel production. ADM previously announced plans to convert ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel at this facility and others, with carbon capture reducing the lifecycle emissions even further.

The aviation industry desperately needs SAF at scale. Airlines face regulatory pressure and customer expectations to decarbonize, but battery-electric planes remain decades away for long-haul routes. Bioethanol-derived SAF with carbon capture offers one of the few near-term pathways to significantly lower emissions without retiring existing aircraft fleets.

CCS Pathway	Cost Range ($/ton CO₂)	Key Advantage
Bioethanol CCS	$30-60	High-purity CO₂ stream, proven technology
Industrial post-combustion	$50-120	Retrofit existing facilities
Direct air capture	$250-600	Removes legacy emissions, site flexibility

What Comes Next

With Columbus operational, ADM and Tallgrass have proven the model works at a commercial scale. The next phase involves expanding capacity and connecting additional emitters to the Trailblazer pipeline. Tallgrass designed the system with growth in mind, and the company is already in discussions with other potential customers.

ADM's broader strategy includes similar projects in Iowa and Illinois. The company signed agreements to develop pipeline infrastructure connecting multiple facilities to centralized storage sites. This network approach could establish the Midwest as a major carbon management region, leveraging agricultural CO₂ sources and geological storage capacity.

For policymakers, the Columbus project demonstrates that large-scale CCS can move from planning to operation without getting stuck in permitting limbo or cost overruns. The project used existing pipeline rights-of-way, worked with landowners on voluntary easements, and delivered operational infrastructure on schedule. That's the kind of execution that builds investor confidence and accelerates deployment elsewhere.

The Bigger Picture

The world's largest bioethanol carbon capture facility isn't just about one plant in Nebraska. It's about proving that agriculture, energy infrastructure, and climate technology can work together at a commercial scale. The project creates a template for similar deployments across the Corn Belt and beyond.

Carbon capture technology has faced skepticism about costs, scalability, and real-world performance. Projects like Columbus answer those questions by actually operating rather than just promising. When a facility captures CO₂ from ethanol production, transports it 400 miles through a repurposed pipeline, and injects it permanently underground, that's not a theory anymore.

As more companies face pressure to decarbonize their supply chains, low-carbon ingredients become a competitive advantage. ADM is positioning itself to meet that demand while strengthening agricultural economies in the process. The Columbus facility shows that decarbonization and economic development don't have to be trade-offs; they can reinforce each other when infrastructure and incentives align.