Red Trail Energy (RTE) Carbon Capture andStorage (CCS) Project
CCS Technical Workshop 2020
Tokyo, Japan
January 23, 2020

Dustin Willett, Chief Operating Officer
RTE, North Dakota USA

Outline• RTE Ethanol Facility• CCS Drivers• RTE CCS ProjectImage Credit: Red Trail Energy• Questions

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RTE Ethanol Facility

Red Trail Energy, LLC
Richardton, ND

928 Investors

Over $149 million
in Gross Sales
Coproducts
Support 220,000
head of Cattle

46 Employees

23 million bushelsof Corn

233,000 tons ofCoproducts

Approximately $350 millionof Economic Impact
564 million gallons ofEthanolInvestor-Owned since 2007
64-million-gallon-per-year Dry
Grind Ethanol Plant:• Constructed starting July 2005,operating by January 2007
• 180,000–185,000 gallons/dayethanol• 480–500 tons/day dried distillers
grains (DDG’s)

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy6

Corn  Ethanol
Image Credit: American Corn Growers Foundation

A bushel of corn weighing 56 pounds:• 2.82 gallons ethanol (~18.7 pounds)• 18.0 pounds CO2• 18.5 pounds Distillers Grains•0.8 pounds Corn Oil

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Corn Receiving• RTE requires 23–24 millions
bushels/year corn
• RTE receives corn by truckor hopper rail cars
• The corn receiving system
can move 60,000
bushels/hour• Silos + grind & scalping
bin = 1.75 million bushels

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

8Grain Silos and Slurry

Images Credit: Red Trail Energy

9Four (4) Fermenters and Beerwell

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

10Vacuum Distillation

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

11Four (4) Centrifuges and Eight (8) Evaporators

Images Credit: Red Trail Energy

12Dryers A & B

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

13Dry/Modified Distillers GrainsImages Credit: Red Trail Energy

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Staying Cool

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

15

Dual Natural Gas Package Boilers

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

16

Operating Stations

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

17Ethanol Storage

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

18Moving RTE Products by RailImages Credit: Red Trail Energy

19Fuel Ethanol Stats
Source: Renewable Fuels Association, 2017

• 90% plants use dry mill process• 200 US plants, 28 states = 16 billion gallons
 ND is Top 10 producer• US generates 60% global market– Exported 1 billion gallons in 2016
– Canada and Brazil are half market– Other leading markets: China, India,Philippines, Peru and South Korea

Image Credit: Red Trail Energy

20RTE CCS Drivers

RTE’sGrowth:Bound byeconomics
of delivered
cornfeedstock

Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center

Historic Ethanol Production and Prices$3.00

ProductionPrice

32,500$2.50
30,00027,500$2.00

25,000$1.50
22,500Sources: Energy Information Agengy; AgriculturalMarketing Resource Center (January 2020)

20,000
2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

$1.00
2015
23

2016

2017

2018

2019

US Midwest Price, per gallon

US Production, 1000 bbls

35,000Evolving Ethanol Markets
Low-carbon fuels

Low-carbon fuel programs• A transportation fuel having a lower“carbon intensity” than conventional
petroleum fuels• California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard(LCFS)• Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program• RTE currently ships ethanol toCalifornia, Oregon• Ethanol, Natural gas

Photograph by Lars Plougmann

Photograph by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Lowering the Ethanol Carbon Footprint• Lower-carbon feedstocks– “No-till” agriculture• Low-carbon business practices– Natural gas for production energy (asopposed to coal)Implementing carbon capture andstorage (CCS)– Market advantage over conventionalethanol– Applicable for carbon-related US tax
credits
Photographs by Judd McCullum, OpenSource.com,
Ishikawa Ken, and Elvis Kennedy,25The CCS Advantage
California LCFS Program: Carbon Intensity (CI)by Fuel TypeUSA IRS Tax Incentive

Up to $50/tonne CO2 fordedicated storage

LCFS Gasoline 2020 Goal

Midwest Ethanol Producers 2016

Construction before 2024

RTE 2016

Credits allowable for 12 years.

RTE Goal w/CCS
020406080100

CI, gCO2e/MJ
Source: California Air Resources Board (July 2016)26

$2002,500,000

Volume of Credits Transacted (MT)ARB Monthly Average Credit Price

2,000,000

Source: California Air Resources Board (December 2019)27

Sep 19May 19Jan 19Sep 18May 18

Jan 18

Sep 17

May 17

Jan 17

Sep 16

May 16

Jan 16

Sep 150
May 15$0
Jan 15500,000

Sep 14$50

May 141,000,000

Jan 14$100

Sep 131,500,000

May 13$150

Jan 13Credit Price, $/tonne$250

Volume Transacted, tonne CO2
equivalent

California’s LCFS Credit MarketRTE Site:
Excellent CCSCase Study Broom Creek Formation: >10 billion
tons CO2 storage potential• Carbon capture– 180,000 tons of CO2 peryear from fermentation– Nearly pure CO2 stream

 RTE CCS: ~18 million tons CO2(if injecting up to 100 years)• Carbon storage– Broom Creek Formation– 6400 ft directly below
RTE facility, ~300 ft thick

Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center (modified from Peck and others, 2014)28

RTE CCS ProjectRTE CCS Project:
Funding and Technical Partners

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Phase I Summary
Nov 2016 – May 2017
• Technically feasible: ~40%–50% net CO2 emissions
reduction– CO2 capture and transport– Site characterization, geologic modeling and simulation– Life cycle analysis (LCA), risk assessment• Economic viability: Possible through low-carbon fuels
programs or other incentives• Completed preliminary Field Implementation Plan (FIP)– CO2 capture system and pipeline– Permitting plan; monitoring, verification, accounting(MVA) plan
– Well design, geologic characterization and testing plan
Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center31

Phase II Summary
Nov 2017 – July 2018
• Technically feasible: ~30%–40% net CO2 emissions
reduction for liquefied CO2– Analyzed fermentation exhaust gases, modified
design and refined LCA– Established permitting pathways and updated
Phase I FIP♦ North Dakota Class VI Program♦ Low-Carbon Fuel Programs

Provisional MVA Plan

• Economic viability: Requirements for incentive
programs add complications• Developed detailed Community Outreach Plan

Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center (Leroux and others, 2018)32

Phase III Summary
Dec 2018 – May 2020

Design package for implementation of
first commercial CCS project in ND.

 Develop CO2 Capture Process Design Package (PDP) Initiate monitoring and characterization plans– Near-Surface monitoring (water and soil gas)
– Reservoir characterization (seismic survey)• Prepare CCS Permit Application Package• Evaluate economic viability  Up-to-daterequirements for CO2 markets/incentives• Execute Public Outreach Plan  Develop Public
Outreach Package
UPDATE: Permit to Drill recentlyapproved for Stratigraphic Test Hole

Image Credit: Energy &Environmental Research Center

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RTE CCS Project: Accomplishments
 Established technical feasibility– Approx. 40% net CO2 emissions
reduction
 Established preliminary economic viability– Low-carbon fuels (LCF) programs,federal incentives, etc.
• Developed, initiated Community OutreachPlan
 Conducted 2 local open houses
 Updates with state/county/city officials
 Topical fact sheets (for landownerinteractions)• Developed, initiated Field
Implementation Plan
 CO2 Capture Process Design
Package Near-surface sampling and seismicsurvey
 Characterization and testing design Permit to Drill for stratigraphic testhole34

RTE CCS Project: Next Steps• Drill stratigraphic test hole
– Core analyses and downhole testing– Update modeling and operationplans– Start downhole baseline monitoring• Install capture facility– Contract and construction– Shakedown operation– Integrate with CO2 injection, geologic
storage system• Acquire Class VI permit and LCFS
pathway– Complete all required plans– Submit all required documentation

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Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center

Potential RTE CCS Activities Timeline
CCS Components& Major Activities

Q1

Characterization &Monitoring*

Q2
Seismic DataAcquisition

CCS Components& Major Activities
Characterization &Monitoring*
Capture System
Permits & Wells

Q3

Q4

Permit to Drill
Submitted, Approved

Baseline
Monitoring

Q2

Q3

ContractCapture

Q4

Drill StratWell**

CaptureConstruction
Submit ND Storage
Facility Permits*Includes modeling/simulation updates
with major data acquisition events

2021
Q1

Q2

Core, Testing, & Downhole/Baseline Monitoring

Near-Surface
Monitoring (start)

Draft Permits(start)

2020

Q1

CaptureBids

Capture System
Permits & Wells

Today

2019

Q3

Q4

Operational
Monitoring

CaptureConstruction

CaptureStartDrill 2nd Well**Injection
Start**Stratigraphic test and potential
monitoring/injection wells depending
on results***Note: Timeframes are presented for
relative comparison purposes only***36

Questions?

Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center

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Contact Information
Red Trail Energy, LLC
3682 Hwy 8 SouthPO Box 11
Richardton, North Dakota 58652
701.974.3309 (fax)
www.redtrailenergyllc.com
Gerald Bachmeier
Chief Executive Officer
701.974.3308
gerald@redtrailenergy.com
Dustin Willett
Chief Operating Officer
701.974.3308 ext. 111
dustin@redtrailenergy.com

Energy & Environmental Research Center
University of North Dakota
15 North 23rd Street, Stop 9018
Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202-9018
701.777.5181 (fax)
www.undeerc.org

Project Advisor
John Hamling
Assistant Director for Integrated Projects
701.777. 5472jhamling@undeerc.org
Project Manager
Kerryanne Leroux
Principal Engineer, CCUS Systems Lead
701.777.5013
kleroux@undeerc.org

THANK YOU!
Image Credit: Energy & Environmental Research Center