Red Trail Energy

What Red Trail Energy does

Red Trail Energy operates a corn-based ethanol production facility located at 3682 Highway 8 South in Richardton, North Dakota, originally founded in the mid-2000s as an investor-owned operating company. In 2024, the facility became the first ethanol plant in the United States to voluntarily enter carbon markets, integrating carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology with conventional ethanol production to capture and permanently store CO2 underground. In 2025, Red Trail Energy was acquired by Gevo Inc. (NASDAQ: GEVO) and now operates as a wholly-owned asset under the DBA NETZERO RICHARDTON LLC. The facility produced 69 million gallons of low-carbon ethanol at a record 106% utilization rate and captured and permanently stored 173,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2025, with planned expansion toward 75 million gallons per year of capacity. Enzyme-enabled process enhancements boost ethanol yields by approximately 10% relative to conventional production.

The company generates revenue through multiple streams: wholesale low-carbon ethanol sales, sale of voluntary carbon credits generated by the CCS operations, direct-to-customer E85 fuel sales to farmers, local businesses, and employees, and sale of dried distillers grains as a co-product animal feed. A potential future revenue stream is the sale of captured CO2 to Bakken-region oil producers for use in enhanced oil recovery. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales for B2B ethanol, carbon credit, and prospective CO2-offtake customers, paired with direct local sales for E85 and distillers grains. Gevo is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to transfer a $1.46 billion loan originally intended for a South Dakota sustainable aviation fuel site to expand the Richardton facility, positioning Red Trail's CCS infrastructure as a platform for sustainable aviation fuel production.

The company serves a mix of customers including farmers and agricultural operations (corn supply and E85 purchasers), Bakken-region oil and gas producers (potential CO2 offtake for EOR), and voluntary carbon credit buyers. Operating geographies are concentrated in North Dakota, with regional distribution for potential CO2 sales and national reach via carbon credit markets. The underlying firmographic headcount is 11–50 employees, consistent with a single-site production operation rather than a multi-site platform.

Name

Red Trail Energy

Legal name

NETZERO RICHARDTON LLC

Website

https://redtrailenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Red Trail Energy operates a corn-based ethanol production facility in Richardton, North Dakota, now owned by Gevo Inc. It was the first ethanol plant to voluntarily enter carbon markets, producing low-carbon ethanol and capturing CO2 for permanent underground storage.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ethanol Production and Renewable Fuels

NAICS

Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing (325193), Biomass Electric Power Generation (221117)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991)

akta.pro primary industry

Grain & Sugar-Based Ethanol Production (EUAAAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carbon Removal Credits Trading (DAC, BECCS, Biochar, Mineralization) (EUAGAIAL), Industrial & Refrigerant Emissions Reduction (N2O, HFCs, SF6, Process Emissions) (EUABABAM)

Keywords

• Ethanol production
• Carbon capture sequestration
• Renewable fuels
• Corn processing
• Voluntary carbon credits

Headquarters

HQ city

Richardton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ethanol Sales: Sale of low-carbon ethanol produced at the facility, with production reaching 69 million gallons and achieving a record 106% utilization rate.
2. Carbon Credits: Revenue from voluntary carbon credits generated through CO2 capture and permanent underground storage, as the first ethanol plant to voluntarily enter carbon markets.
3. CO2 for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Potential future revenue from selling captured CO2 to Bakken-region oil producers for use in enhanced oil recovery operations.
4. Distillers Grains Sales: Sale of dried distillers grains, a co-product of ethanol production used as animal feed.
5. E85 and Fuel Sales: Direct sale of E85 fuel to farmers, local businesses, and employees at the North Dakota facility.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Red Trail Energy operates a corn-based ethanol production facility in Richardton, North Dakota, producing approximately 69 million gallons of low-carbon ethanol annually. The plant integrates carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology, capturing 173,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2025 for permanent underground storage. The facility also sells E85 fuel directly to farmers, local businesses, and employees, and markets dried distillers grains as a co-product.

Product overview

Red Trail Energy operates as an ethanol production facility in Richardton, North Dakota (now doing business as Gevo North Dakota / NetZero Richardton LLC). The company produces low-carbon ethanol as its core product, utilizing carbon capture and sequestration technology to capture and permanently store CO2 underground. The facility also sells E85 fuel directly to customers. After acquisition by Gevo Inc., the facility produces approximately 69 million gallons of low-carbon ethanol annually with plans to expand capacity to 75 million gallons per year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Low-Carbon Ethanol Renewable fuel produced at the North Dakota facility, achieving 69 million gallons of production and a record 106% utilization rate in 2025, utilizing enzyme-enabled process enhancements that boosted ethanol yields by approximately 10%.
• E85 Fuel Ethanol fuel blend sold directly to farmers, local businesses, and employees at the Richardton, North Dakota facility.
• Dried Distillers Grains (DDG) Co-product of ethanol production sold as animal feed, with dried distiller's loading hours posted Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CT at the Richardton facility.
• Voluntary Carbon Credits Verified voluntary carbon credits generated from the capture and permanent underground storage of CO2 produced as a byproduct of ethanol manufacturing; first of their kind from a U.S. ethanol plant.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Gevo Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Gevo Inc. acquired Red Trail Energy assets in 2025, transforming Gevo from a development-stage company to an operating business. The acquisition drove 849% year-over-year revenue increase to $161 million and enabled Gevo to leverage Red Trail's existing carbon capture infrastructure for sustainable aviation fuel production expansion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Gevo Inc. Parent company and acquirer of Red Trail Energy's assets. Gevo is a publicly traded renewable fuels and SAF developer that now operates the Richardton facility as NETZERO RICHARDTON LLC, leveraging its CCS infrastructure for SAF feedstock production.
• POET: Largest U.S. ethanol producer operating dozens of corn ethanol plants nationwide. Comparable in product (grain-based ethanol), customer base (fuel blenders), and distribution model, though at significantly greater scale and without Red Trail's CCS positioning.
• Valero Energy: Major U.S. fuel refiner with significant ethanol production through subsidiary operations. Comparable in ethanol output and downstream fuel blending, though ethanol is a smaller line within a much larger refining portfolio.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Global agribusiness and major U.S. ethanol producer. Comparable in grain sourcing, corn-based ethanol production, and DDG co-product sales, though at vastly greater scale and as part of a broader commodity processing portfolio.

Direct peers

• Blue Flint Ethanol: North Dakota-based corn ethanol producer and one of the few other U.S. ethanol plants with operational CCS — explicitly named alongside Red Trail as a major documented CCS initiative in the U.S. ethanol industry. Direct peer in grain-based ethanol + carbon capture.
• Green Plains Inc. Publicly traded corn ethanol producer with multiple plants across the U.S. midwest. Direct peer in grain-based ethanol production with co-product (DDG) sales and an active pivot toward low-carbon and high-protein initiatives that overlap Red Trail's low-carbon strategy.
• White Energy: U.S. grain-based ethanol producer with plants in Texas and Iowa. Comparable as a multi-plant ethanol operator producing corn ethanol and DDG co-products for the fuel and feed markets.

Emerging players

• Aemetis: Renewable fuels company focused on low-carbon ethanol and SAF pathways, including CCS and renewable diesel. Comparable as a mid-cap player pursuing low-carbon premium pricing and SAF/renewable diesel diversification from an ethanol base.
• LanzaTech: Carbon capture biotech converting industrial off-gases into ethanol and SAF feedstocks. Comparable as a low-carbon fuel producer pursuing voluntary carbon credits and SAF, though using gas-fermentation rather than corn-fermentation pathways.

Others

• Summit Carbon Solutions: CCS infrastructure partner contracted to build the CO2 pipeline serving Red Trail. Not a competitor but a directly interdependent ecosystem player whose pipeline performance is a key enabler of Red Trail's CCS scaling.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RedTrailEnergyLlc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/red-trail-energy-llc-memb-un

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Red Trail Energy