The Andersons Bets $915M on Low-Carbon Ethanol Plants

The Andersons will pay $915 million for Harvestone Low Carbon Partners, a three-plant ethanol platform in North Dakota and Indiana. Roughly half the price reflects expected 45Z and 45Q tax credit cash flows. Carbon capture is now priced directly into ethanol deals.

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What Is The Andersons Buying From Energy Capital Partners?

The Andersons is buying a platform of three corn ethanol plants with about 215 million gallons of annual capacity. The seller is Energy Capital Partners (ECP), an investment firm that acquired the platform less than four years ago.

Harvestone owns Blue Flint in Underwood, North Dakota. It also owns Dakota Spirit near Spiritwood, North Dakota, and Iroquois Bio-Energy Company (IBEC) in Rensselaer, Indiana. ECP developed and implemented the carbon capture projects at these sites.

The Andersons is an agribusiness and renewables company based in Maumee, Ohio. Its renewables platform grows by more than 40 percent, to about 730 million gallons of annual capacity, once the deal closes. The company announced the agreement on November 4, 2026.

How Do the 45Z and 45Q Tax Credits Differ?

The 45Z credit pays for producing low-carbon fuel. The 45Q credit pays for carbon dioxide that is captured and stored or used.

The 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit rewards each gallon based on its carbon intensity score. Lower scores earn larger credits. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act extended the credit through December 31, 2029.

Producers are still learning how to max out their 45Z credit. The 45Q credit works differently. It pays per metric ton of CO2, with a base rate of $17 and a rate of $85 when labor requirements are met.

The Andersons cites both credits as expected cash flows. Federal anti-stacking rules limit which credits one facility can claim in the same year. The final mix will depend on how each plant is structured.

Which Harvestone Plants Are Storing CO2 Today?

One Harvestone plant is injecting CO2 today. Andersons management expects the other two to begin sequestration in 2027 and 2028.

• Blue Flint: CO2 injection began in October 2023 under a Class VI permit from the North Dakota Industrial Commission. The plant captures more than 200,000 metric tons a year. The CO2 goes into the Broom Creek Formation, about one mile underground.
• Dakota Spirit: Andersons management expects sequestration to begin in early 2027.
• IBEC: The Class VI permit application is in technical review at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Management expects sequestration in late 2028.

The Andersons says Harvestone is among a very limited number of U.S. ethanol producers with demonstrated Class VI injection capabilities. The company also notes that much of the planned sequestration capacity remains in development.

Blue Flint also drew financing built around 45Q. Bank of America provided $205 million in tax equity in a deal that closed on September 5, 2024. Harvestone described it as the first of its kind.

North Dakota has held Class VI permitting authority since 2018, and more states have since taken control of Class VI permitting. Indiana permits still run through the EPA, so IBEC follows a federal timeline. A three-plant ethanol CCS effort in Nebraska shows other producers pairing capture with credits.

How Does the Deal Compare With Gevo's Red Trail Purchase?

Gevo paid $210 million for one 65 million gallon plant with operating carbon capture. The Andersons is paying $915 million for three plants at different stages of carbon storage.

Gevo, Inc., a renewable fuels company in Englewood, Colorado, announced the Red Trail Energy purchase on September 12, 2024. The deal closed on January 31, 2025. Red Trail in Richardton, North Dakota, was the first U.S. ethanol plant with carbon capture and storage.

Detail	The Andersons and HLCP	Gevo and Red Trail
Announced	November 4, 2026	September 12, 2024
Price	$915 million	$210 million
Ethanol capacity	About 215 million gallons per year	65 million gallons per year
Plants	Three (North Dakota and Indiana)	One (Richardton, North Dakota)
CCS status	Blue Flint injecting since October 2023, Dakota Spirit expected early 2027, IBEC in EPA review	Operating since 2022, about 160,000 metric tons per year stored at announcement
Stated strategy	Ethanol scale and low-carbon premiums	Site for sustainable aviation fuel expansion

Gevo's North Dakota plant had issued more than 500,000 carbon removal credits as of January 22, 2026. Stored CO2 at that site now supports a separate credit market beyond the ethanol itself.

Why Is Carbon Capture Now Part of Ethanol Pricing?

Buyers now value tax credit cash flows and premium markets alongside ethanol output. Roughly half of the $915 million Harvestone price rests on expected 45Z and 45Q credits.

The Andersons points to premium pricing for lower-carbon ethanol. The North Dakota plants serve U.S. and Canadian low-carbon markets. The company also cites regenerative agriculture programs as an added opportunity.

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Other producers are lowering carbon intensity on the farm side. CF Industries, POET and agriculture co-operatives launched a low-carbon fertilizer pilot. POET expects 5 to 6 million gallons of lower-carbon ethanol from the first applications.

Regional co-ops are also working to close the gap in low-carbon ethanol. Lower carbon intensity scores translate directly into larger 45Z credits per gallon.

From Corn Rows to Carbon Credits

Corn grown in North Dakota now feeds a plant that stores CO2 about one mile underground. The Andersons is paying $915 million to bring that model across 215 million gallons of capacity.

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