POET, CF Industries Team with Ag Cooperatives to Reduce Corn, Ethanol CI
Fertilizer and ammonia producer CF Industries Holdings and POET, the largest ethanol producer in the U.S., have launched a pilot project with agricultural cooperatives to develop a low-carbon fertilizer supply chain aimed at reducing the carbon intensity (CI) of ethanol production, the companies said in a release Monday.
The pilot is designed to demonstrate how low-carbon nitrogen fertilizer can lower the CI of corn used for ethanol, enabling the production of lower-carbon ethanol for motor fuel and export markets, the companies said.
Participants in the pilot include WinField United, the crop inputs business of Land O’Lakes, and the agricultural cooperatives NuWay-K&H, New Cooperative and Farmer’s Cooperative.
Under the latest program, the CI of low-carbon fertilizer produced by CF Industries will be tracked through retail distribution channels to corn growers in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Nebraska. POET facilities in Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska will then use the corn grown with the low-carbon fertilizer to produce ethanol.
POET declined to share with OPIS the specific CI scores the companies would be able to achieve. According to California Air Resources Board (CARB) data, POET currently has 104 certified pathways participating in the state’s low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) program, with CI scores ranging from 23.48 to 80.01.
The consortium completed its first distribution and application of low-carbon ammonia fertilizer in the fall of 2025, according to the release.
POET estimates the corn produced under the pilot could be used to make about 5-6 million gallons of lower-CI ethanol.
“At POET, we’re always working to expand markets for farmers and support Midwest economies. This trial provides an additional pathway to reduce the carbon intensity of our bioethanol, delivering both environmental and economic benefits for rural communities,” said Christian McIlvain, president of POET Grain, in the release.
CF Industries produces low-carbon ammonia at its Donaldsonville, La., complex by capturing carbon dioxide emissions from the ammonia production process and permanently storing them underground.
At full capacity, the company said the site can produce up to 1.9 million tons of low-carbon ammonia annually, enough to supply fertilizer for an estimated 19-22 million acres of corn, according to the company.
“Fertilizers manufactured with a lower carbon intensity provide a quantifiable and certifiable method of decarbonizing bioethanol inputs,” said Bert Frost, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at CF Industries.
Reporting by Bryan Sims, bsims@opisnet.com