Navigator pipeline would transport CO2 from POET ethanol plants under new deal

Navigator, one of three proposed CO2 pipelines in Iowa, has not yet filed for a permit with the Iowa Utilities Board

Jun. 7, 2022 12:05 pm

David Giles, chief operating officer and president of Navigator, talks about his company’s plan to build a pipeline across Iowa to carry pressurized carbon dioxide from ethanol and fertilizer plants. (Andy Hallman/The Union)

Navigator CO2 Ventures and POET have signed a deal to transport the carbon dioxide from 18 ethanol plants in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota through a proposed pipeline to Illinois.

A letter of intent between the companies estimates they will capture and store 5 million metric tons of CO2 a year from the POET facilities starting in 2025, according to a news release Tuesday.

Altogether, Navigator plans to capture and transport CO2 from more than 30 industrial processors “to deliver up to 15 million tons annually” of carbon-capture services, the news release states.

Navigator, a Texas company, last year proposed a 1,300-mile pipeline that would pass through more than 30 Iowa counties, including Linn, Benton, Cedar, Delaware and Iowa, capturing carbon dioxide at ethanol and fertilizer plants. The gas would be put under pressure, turned into liquid and piped to a site in south-central Illinois.

Navigator has not yet filed for a permit with the Iowa Utilities Board.

This is one of three proposed CO2 pipelines in Iowa.

Summit Carbon Solutions is planning a 2,000-mile C02 pipeline through Iowa to North Dakota. The company filed in January for a permit with the Iowa Utilities Board, but a date for a public hearing has not yet been set.

ADM and Wolf Carbon Solutions announced in January they have signed a letter of intent to build a 350-mile pipeline to transport liquefied CO2 from ethanol and cogeneration facilities in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to ADM’s already-operational sequestration site in Decatur, Illinois.

POET operates 33 bioprocessing facilities across eight states, including Iowa.