ADM Announces Plan to Build Carbon Dioxide Pipeline

By Caroline Stauffer

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. said on Tuesday it had signed a letter of intent with Wolf Carbon Solutions to build a pipeline that would capture and transport carbon dioxide produced at ADM’s ethanol facilities at Clinton and Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The pipeline is the latest effort by agriculture and energy companies to reduce emissions of planet warming carbon and would test carbon capture technology, a potentially powerful tool to fight climate change that is relatively new and unproven.

ADM said the 350-mile steel pipeline, capable of transporting 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, would support its decarbonization goals. The carbon would be stored underground at ADM’s sequestration site in Decatur, Illinois, rather than being released into the atmosphere.

The pipeline would have spare capacity to serve ADM customers looking to decarbonize across the Midwest and Ohio River Valley, ADM said in a statement.

Another company, Summit Carbon Solutions has faced opposition from farmers over its plans to build a 2,000-mile, $4.5 billion carbon pipeline in the Midwest due to concerns about land usage and potential crop damage. ADM did not provide an investment estimate for its pipeline. read more

Underground geological formations in the United States have the potential to store 2.6 trillion tons of planet-warming CO2, enough to cover all of America’s historical emissions and those to come for centuries, according to the Department of Energy.