Lapis Is Taking Ethanol CCS Off the Pipeline

Carbon capture at ethanol plants is no longer an experiment. It's a competitive strategy, and Big River Resources just made its move.

On February 17, 2026, Lapis Carbon Solutions and Big River Resources filed a Class VI permit application with the EPA for a new carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Galva, Illinois. The project would permanently sequester more than 725,000 metric tons of CO2 per year over 12 years, co-located right next to Big River's operating ethanol facility.

For a region that has seen its share of CCS setbacks and skepticism, this project is structured differently from the start. The geology is already confirmed. The partnership is already in place. And the economics are backed by federal tax credits.

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Built on Verified Ground

Before a single page of the permit hit the EPA's desk, Lapis and Big River already did the hard work underground. A stratigraphic test well drilled at the Galva site confirmed that the local geology can support safe, long-term CO2 storage. That kind of upfront verification isn't just good practice. It's how projects build the credibility that regulators and communities now expect from any serious CCS proposal.

Illinois has been on the CCS map for years, but building industrial carbon storage here comes with real scrutiny. Lapis and Big River are moving forward with site data already in hand, not promises to figure it out later.

Class VI wells are the EPA's designated category for geological sequestration of CO2. They require rigorous engineering and environmental review before injection begins. Filing the application is the critical first step toward commercial operations.

The Near-Plant Model Changes the Equation

One of the quieter storylines in Midwest ethanol CCS is how much geography shapes what's possible. Large shared CO2 transport hubs work well along the Gulf Coast, where industrial density and existing pipeline corridors make the economics click. Illinois cornfields are a different world. Regional CO2 pipelines are expensive, politically contentious, and slow to permit.

Lapis is building its model around a direct answer to that problem: dedicated, co-located storage developed right next to the emitter, sized to the specific plant, and matched to local geology. No shared trunk lines. No cross-state easement fights. Just a purpose-built sequestration site for one facility and the community around it.

That approach is gaining real traction. Conestoga Energy in Kansas drilled its own Class VI well rather than waiting on third-party pipeline infrastructure. And while Tallgrass proved a CO2 pipeline model can scale in Nebraska, that success also underscores the challenge: not every ethanol plant has a regional network nearby.

What This Unlocks for Big River

Big River Resources isn't new to thinking about carbon. The company has been looking for a durable, low-risk path to reducing the carbon intensity of its ethanol for years. The Galva project gives them that, without depending on infrastructure someone else has to build first.

Lower carbon intensity is the ticket to premium markets that are already paying out, including California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the fast-growing market for sustainable aviation fuel feedstocks. Producers who capture and store their biogenic CO2 can move from commodity ethanol into a product category that commands a real price premium.

The financial structure also holds up. Captured CO2 at the Galva site qualifies for federal tax credits under Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code. That credit improves project economics and helps de-risk the capital required to build and permit dedicated CCS infrastructure in a region where the model is still proving itself.

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Lapis and the Site-by-Site Strategy

The Galva permit is part of a deliberate pattern. Lapis has been building a project pipeline one site at a time, each one grounded in specific geology and a specific partner's operational needs. Their CCS work with LSB Industries in Arkansas, combined with a 187,500-acre sequestration exploration agreement with Weyerhaeuser spanning three southern states, shows a company that is building technical depth across different geologies and industrial contexts.

The Galva project brings that depth to the Midwest for the first time. And the timing fits. As federal permitting timelines remain unpredictable and large-scale CO2 pipeline projects continue to face community opposition, projects with verified geology and dedicated local storage are increasingly positioned to move through the regulatory process faster.

The Galva Effect

The ethanol industry doesn't lack for ambition when it comes to carbon capture. What it has sometimes lacked is execution paired with credibility. A geology-tested, locally focused, 45Q-backed project in a Midwest market that's been underserved by CCS infrastructure is exactly the kind of development that can shift the narrative.

If Lapis and Big River see this through, Galva won't just be a small Illinois town with a big ethanol plant. It'll be a reference point for how carbon capture in corn country can actually work, on its own terms, in its own geology, for its own community.