Summit Carbon, developer behind carbon capture pipeline, hires agriculture veteran as CEO

Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register
·3 min read

Summit Carbon Solutions, the Ames company that is seeking to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline across Iowa, said Thursday it's hired ag industry veteran Lee Blank as its CEO.

Summit said Blank has 30 years of experience across several agricultural markets. The startup is a spinoff of Bruce Rastetter's Summit Agricultural Group.

“Lee’s background as an accomplished leader and entrepreneur, his experience in project delivery, and his ability to develop relationships and to engage with these stakeholders make him a perfect fit,” Rastetter, the founder of Alden-based Summit Agricultural Group, said in a statement.

Lee Blank, a 30-year ag veteran, has been named CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames company that seeks to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline in Iowa and three other states.
Lee Blank, a 30-year ag veteran, has been named CEO of Summit Carbon Solutions, an Ames company that seeks to build a $4.5 billion carbon capture pipeline in Iowa and three other states.

Summit Carbon Solutions seeks to build its 2,000-mile pipeline through four states, including 680 miles in Iowa. The company proposes capturing carbon dioxide emissions from ethanol and other industrial agriculture plants, liquefying it under pressure and transporting it via the pipeline to North Dakota, where it will be permanently sequestered a mile underground.

The project, one of three carbon capture pipelines proposed in Iowa, the nation's top producer of ethanol, has run into significant opposition from farmers, landowners and local officials. Many of the concerns have centered on the potential for companies to use eminent domain powers, enabling them to force unwilling landowners to sell access to their land for the pipeline.

Iowans also have raised concern about the pipeline's safety and its possible impact on farmland and underlying drainage systems.

Summit and the other pipeline developers say the projects will help ethanol and other energy-intensive agricultural industries remain viable as the nation seeks to cut net greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 to address climate change.

Summit said Blank began his career at Archer Daniels Midland, spending 15 years managing operations across commodity merchandising, logistics and processing. Most recently, Blank led Advance Trading Inc., an Illinois risk management firm, and was CEO of GFG Ag Services, a Missouri farm services company.

MORE: What we know about three carbon capture pipelines proposed in Iowa

Before GFG Ag Services, Blank served as CEO of Twin Rivers Technologies, a Massachusetts agricultural processing company, where he was responsible for the development and construction of a $210 million processing facility in Canada.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Summit Carbon Solutions at this critical stage,” Blank said in a statement. “Throughout my career in the agriculture industry, there has never been a more urgent need, nor a more difficult challenge than decarbonization, but at Summit Carbon Solutions we have an opportunity to make a tremendous impact on the industry’s carbon footprint, while bolstering its long-term economic fundamentals."

Summit and other pipeline developers say the projects will help ethanol and other energy-intensive agricultural industries remain viable as the nation seeks to cut net greenhouse emissions in half by 2030 to address climate change.

MORE: Summit Carbon Solutions hires former WOI TV anchor as community relations director

Summit said Thursday it's negotiated voluntary easements with 650 Iowa landowners, giving the company about 40% of the easements it needs along the pipeline's path.

The company says it's received about $1.1 billion in investments for the project, anchored by TPG Rise, Continental Resources, Tiger Infrastructure Partners and SK Group. It also announced a partnership with Minnkota Power Cooperative, which provides Summit access to the largest fully permitted carbon storage facility in the United States.

Summit seeks to sequester roughly 10 million tons per year of carbon dioxide, beginning in 2024. The Iowa Utilities Board has yet to set a date for a public hearing on the company's petition to build the pipeline.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457. 

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Summit Carbon, developer behind carbon capture pipeline, hires CEO