Tharaldson Ethanol

What Tharaldson Ethanol does

Tharaldson Ethanol is a privately held dry-mill ethanol producer headquartered just west of Casselton, North Dakota, operating one of the largest ethanol facilities in the United States at a nameplate capacity of 170 million gallons per year. The company processes approximately 60 million bushels of locally sourced corn annually through a conventional dry-mill process: corn is ground into meal, slurried with water, enzymatically converted to dextrose, fermented with yeast for 40-50 hours, distilled to 190 proof, and dehydrated to 200 proof via molecular sieve before denaturing with roughly 5 percent natural gasoline to render it unpotable. Two co-products are commercialized: ethanol fuel sold to gasoline terminals and retailers, and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) sold as livestock feed to dairy, beef, swine, poultry, and aquaculture operations at approximately 450,000 tons per year. Captured CO2 from fermentation is sold into beverage and industrial applications.

The company's commercial position rests on three structural advantages. First, scale: at 170 million gallons per year the plant sits in the top tier of U.S. ethanol producers, providing fixed-cost dilution and counterparty relevance in commodity ethanol trading. Second, logistics: the site has direct access to both BNSF Railway and Red River Valley & Western Railroad for inbound corn and outbound ethanol and DDGS, supplemented by interstate highway connectivity. Third, resource efficiency: the facility is designed to reuse process energy for low natural gas consumption per gallon, uses City of Fargo wastewater rather than local groundwater, and operates on-site grain drying and storage for wet corn handling. Founded in 2006, Tharaldson Ethanol generates revenue through commodity sales of ethanol, DDGS, and CO2 to regional B2B buyers across the Upper Midwest, with no disclosed pricing, contract structures, or financial performance metrics.

Name

Tharaldson Ethanol

Legal name

Tharaldson Ethanol

Website

https://tharaldsonethanol.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tharaldson Ethanol is a privately held dry-mill ethanol producer in Casselton, North Dakota, operating a 170 million-gallon-per-year plant that converts regional corn into denatured fuel ethanol, 450,000 tons of dried distillers grains feed, and captured CO2 for B2B customers across the Upper Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ethanol Production / Biofuel Manufacturing

NAICS

Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing (325193)

SIC

Grain Mill Products (2040)

akta.pro primary industry

Grain & Sugar-Based Ethanol Production (EUAAAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Biofuel Co-products & Byproduct Processing (DDGS, Glycerin, CO2, Lignin) (EUAAAHAJ)

Keywords

• Ethanol production
• Renewable fuel
• Distillers grain
• Corn processing
• Biofuel manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Casselton

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, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ethanol fuel sales: Primary revenue stream from producing and selling 170 million gallons per year of high-octane, clean burning ethanol fuel. The ethanol is sold to gasoline terminals or retailers after being blended with approximately 5% denaturant.
2. Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS): Co-product revenue from selling approximately 450,000 tons annually of dried distillers grain with solubles. DDGS is sold as high-quality livestock feed for dairy cattle, beef cattle, swine, poultry, and aquaculture. A bushel of corn produces at least 2.8 gallons of ethanol and 17 pounds of distiller's grain.
3. CO2 capture and sales: CO2 released during fermentation can be captured and sold for use in carbonating soft drinks and beverages and the manufacture of dry ice.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Tharaldson Ethanol operates a 170 million-gallon-per-year dry mill ethanol production facility near Casselton, North Dakota. The company produces denatured ethanol fuel for blending with gasoline, along with co-products including dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) sold as livestock feed and captured CO2 for beverage and industrial use.

Product overview

Tharaldson Ethanol operates a single integrated dry-mill ethanol production facility producing two co-products: ethanol fuel and distillers grain livestock feed. The 170 million-gallon-per-year plant located near Casselton, ND processes approximately 60 million bushels of corn annually to produce high-octane renewable fuel and approximately 450,000 tons per year of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS). The ethanol production process follows conventional dry milling where the entire corn kernel is ground, slurried, fermented using yeast, and distilled to produce fuel-grade ethanol, with the remaining nutrient-dense stillage processed into DDGS livestock feed.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ethanol Fuel High-octane, clean-burning renewable fuel produced from corn starch via dry milling fermentation. The 170 million-gallon-per-year facility produces ethanol that reduces dependence on foreign oil while utilizing locally grown agricultural resources. Sold to gasoline terminals and retailers for fuel blending.
• Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) High-quality livestock feed co-product produced from the non-starch portions of corn retained during ethanol production. A bushel of corn (56 lbs) produces at least 17 pounds of distillers grain. Approximately 450,000 tons produced annually. Sold directly to livestock operations as an economical partial replacement for corn, soybean meal, and dicalcium phosphate in feed rations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Produces 170 million gallons of ethanol and 450,000 tons of dried distiller's grain annually from 60 million bushels of corn
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

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

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cargill: Major US corn buyer and processor with ethanol production interests. Comparable in corn origination scale and grain logistics capability, though ethanol is one of many business lines within Cargill's broader agricultural commodity portfolio.
• Archer Daniels Midland (ADM): Global grain processor with significant US ethanol production capacity. Overlaps with Tharaldson in corn sourcing and dry-mill ethanol production, but operates as part of a much larger agribusiness portfolio with downstream food/feed verticals.

Others

• ICM Inc. Leading US ethanol plant technology provider and engineering firm. Not a competitor but supplies process technology and high-protein feed retrofit solutions (e.g., for the kind of pivot Tharaldson is pursuing per its Dec 2021 announcement). Adjacent ecosystem participant.

Direct peers

• Guardian Energy: Mid-size Midwest ethanol producer operating multiple dry-mill plants with comparable production scale and corn origination profile. Direct competitor for Midwest corn supply, DDGS customers, and fuel blender offtake relationships.
• Valero Renewable Fuels: Subsidiary of Valero Energy operating ~1.2 billion gallons of US ethanol capacity across 12 plants. Directly comparable corn dry-mill ethanol producer with downstream integration into fuel blending through parent company.
• Alto Ingredients: Mid-cap US ethanol producer with plants across the Midwest and West. Directly comparable corn dry-mill ethanol producer selling into fuel blending markets, with co-product DDGS exposure. Smaller scale than Tharaldson per plant.
• Aemetis: California-based ethanol producer focused on low-carbon intensity ethanol and renewable diesel. Comparable dry-mill corn ethanol operations and pursuit of carbon-credit revenue streams; smaller scale but similar commodity exposure profile.
• Marquis Energy: Private Illinois-based dry-mill ethanol producer with comparable scale (~300M gallons across plants). Direct competitor in Midwest corn ethanol market with similar product mix and rail logistics orientation.
• POET Biorefining: Largest US ethanol producer operating ~30 dry-mill plants. Most direct comparable to Tharaldson in process technology (corn dry milling), product mix (ethanol + DDGS), and customer base (fuel blenders, livestock feed). Closest benchmark for scale economics in the industry.
• Green Plains Inc. Public US ethanol producer with ~1 billion gallons of capacity, also pursuing high-protein feed transformation via MSC protein technology. Directly comparable to Tharaldson's DDGS-to-protein pivot strategy and corn dry-mill base. Provides public-market valuation reference for similar operators.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tharaldsethanol
• Facebookfacebook.com/304605522888440
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tharaldson-energy-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Tharaldson Ethanol