In the United States (US), corn ethanol producer Red Trail Energy LLC (RTE) has announced that it will be the first and largest proven production facility in the US to bring high-quality, third-party verified, carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits from bioethanol with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to the voluntary carbon market.
One of the first facilities in the US with bioenergy with carbon capture and storage technology (BECCS), Red Trail Energy began capturing the estimated annual output of 180,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) directly from the ethanol fermentation process in 2022.
The CO2 is stored locally in a state-certified Class VI well approximately 6,500 ft directly beneath the facility into the Broom Creek Formation.
The CO2 Red Trail Energy sequesters from the fermentation process at its plant in Richardton will be available as removal credits to help proactive firms achieve their long-term sustainability or carbon net-zero targets.
There will be an initial offering of credits whereby interested counterparties can purchase the credits in a Request for Proposal (RFP) for prompt and future offtakes through Red Trail Energy’s marketing firm Renewable Products Marketing Group (RPMG), a Minnesota (MN) based bioethanol marketing company.
Puro.earth certification and registry
The credits are expected to be certified through Finland-headed carbon removal standards and registry Puro.earth to ensure key environmental and carbon accounting criteria are met.
The Red Trail Energy project is anticipated to be certified through Puro.earth’s Geologically Stored Carbon methodology as a net-negative, verified and audited by a third party for life cycle analysis.
The Puro. earth-issued CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) will indicate 1,000+ years of carbon sequestration providing the key environmental criteria of permanence and additionality.
For traceability and transparency, CORCs are issued in the Puro Registry where their complete lifecycle is recorded, from issuance to retirement, as emphasized by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM) and International Carbon Reduction and Offsetting Accreditation (ICROA).
Facts
About Puro.earth
Headquartered in Finland, Puro.earth is a world-leading carbon crediting platform for engineered carbon removal.
The Puro Standard creates carbon credit methodologies for processes that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere for at least 100 years. It certifies suppliers that run those processes and issues digital, tradable CO2 Removal Certificates (CORCs) into the public Puro Registry per metric tonne of carbon dioxide removed.
CORCs are purchased directly from suppliers or via sales channel partners by ambitious corporations to help reverse climate change and neutralize residual carbon emissions.
