U.S. Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline Faces Uncertain Future

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Summit Carbon Solutions faces legislative and regulatory uncertainty from multiple states regarding its Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline, leaving the project with an uncertain future and the possibility of being substantially reworked.

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Uncertainly Looms

Summit Carbon Solutions faces an uncertain future regarding the project at the core of its existence: the Midwest Carbon Express pipeline, originally planned to transport and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from more than 50 ethanol plants in five states in the U.S. Midwest. Industrial Info Resources finds the pipeline would span more than 2,000 miles across Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South Dakota and North Dakota, where the CO2 would be sequestered. Subscribers to the Industrial Info Resources Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports. According to Industrial Info Resources data, there are 209 active capital carbon capture and sequestration-related projects in the U.S., with a total investment value of $112.7 billion.

North Dakota Sequestration Issues

State court rulings in December and March upended plans for Summit's North Dakota sequestration site. In December, a court ruled that the North Dakota Industrial Commission's 2024 license approval to store CO2 at the site violated the state constitution. At the heart of the lawsuit was a statute that the pore space for the storage could be used on the property of objecting landowners if 60% of the other landowners had approved it. A further March judgement put the icing the cake by completely reversing the Industrial Commission's decision, meaning Summit is back the square one in securing a sequestration license, something it had previously obtained in a process now deemed in violation of the state's constitution.

Summit asserts that 92% of the sequestration landowners had agreed to participate in the project when the Industrial Commission signed off on the permit. The company now has the option to contest the rulings in the state's Supreme Court, possibly appealing both cases simultaneously as part of the same issue.

South Dakota

Summit hit a major stumbling block in March 2025, when South Dakota flat-out banned the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines. The need for an alternative route was cemented the following month, when the state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) struck down Summit's proposed route based on the number objecting landowners. It was the second time the PUC had rejected Summit's proposed route, the first denial coming in 2023. To date, Summit does not appear to have proposed another route in the state. For more details, readers can see April 25, 2025, article - South Dakota Denies Application for Summit Carbon Pipeline Again.

Summit's originally proposed footprint in the state would have included about 495 miles of pipeline, connecting to 15 ethanol plants. North Dakota's attorney general reportedly was considering filing a lawsuit against South Dakota, stating the state's eminent-domain ban hampered interstate commerce, but that idea remains somewhat of a nonstarter now, as the project is now facing severe challenges in the northern state.

Iowa

Competing bills affecting Summit's use of eminent domain in Iowa were introduced separately into the state's House and Senate this year, with the result being that nothing had been resolved when the legislature adjourned earlier this month. The state's House passed a law completely banning the use eminent domain for carbon pipelines, but it never reached a vote in the Senate. That may have been due to the fact that state Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh (R) introduced his own legislation, restricting the use of eminent domain but providing substantially more flexibility for a company's use of alternative routes. That legislation never made it to a vote after being substantially reworked in committee. For more details, see January 26, 2025, article - Iowa State House, Senate Propose Competing Carbon-Pipeline Bills.

Many Iowa landowners have expressed dissatisfaction with the two legislative chambers' inability to move on eminent domain legislation and have vowed to keep up the fight into the next session--meaning Summit potentially further headaches in its home state, where it is headquartered in Ames.

Summit appears to be softening its position in Iowa. On Wednesday, two Iowa newspapers reported that Summit had altered its plans in the state by removing eight counties, 200 miles and 400 property owners from its proposed route.

Unable to Get Off Ground

Industrial Info has been reporting on the Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline since 2021, and in many ways, the project appears not much closer to getting off the ground than it did in its earliest days. Only Nebraska and Minnesota have been relatively smooth sailing in regard to Summit's plans, and with no sequestration license in North Dakota, no approved route and an eminent domain ban in South Dakota, and loud rumblings from Iowa landowners, the project still very much faces an uphill battle.

Key Takeaways

• Summit's Midwest Carbon Express Pipeline was to have spanned five Midwest states, transporting and sequestering carbon from 57 ethanol plants to a sequestration site in North Dakota.
• Now the state is up against an eminent-domain ban in South Dakota and has lost its sequestration license in North Dakota.
• In addition, Iowa this year introduced bills affecting Summit's use of eminent domain in the state, but the competing bills never made it the governor's desk to be signed into law.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 trillion (USD).