The future of the U.S. ethanol industry looks bright. This is mostly due to rising environmental concerns, growing demand for renewable fuels, and innovation in production technologies.
According to the Renewable Fuels Association, U.S. ethanol production reached a record 16.22 billion gallons in 2024. This can be attributed to rising domestic consumption and increasing exports. Derived mostly from corn, ethanol has become one of the most popular fuel alternatives in the U.S.
To meet this demand, companies are working on making the ethanol production process more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable. They are employing advanced production technologies and establishing new facilities.
In February 2025, GEVO completed the acquisition of assets of Red Trail Energy, LLC, including its carbon capture and sequestration assets and ethanol production plant for US$ 210 million. The acquired assets by GEVO are now called Net-Zero North.
The acquisition is expected to help the company meet growing demand for sustainable fuels like ethanol. It will also allow GEVO to expand the plant to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) site will allow the company to permanently sequester biogenic carbon dioxide to produce high quality US products.
In January 2025, RCM Technologies unveiled its New Ethanol eXpansion Technology (NEXT) program to improve production capacity and energy efficiency in ethanol plant expansion projects without the need for costly and time-consuming major equipment replacement.
In August 2024, Verbio started commercial production of corn-based ethanol at its biorefinery facility in Nevada, Iowa. The new biorefinery can produce 2.3 million MMbtu of renewable natural gas and around 60 million gallons of corn-based ethanol per year.
Verbio added eight fermentation tanks, a silo storage, new equipment, and a corn unloading facility to support its expanded operations. The new commencement of ethanol production and RNG operations will help the company to meet bioenergy demand and advance sustainable mobility. It will also make ethanol accessible for non-fuel industries like beverages.
In January 2024, LanzaJet opened its new Freedom Pines Fuels Plant in Soperton, Georgia. It is the world’s first commercial-scale plant to convert ethanol into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel. The new plant will utilize LanzaJet’s proprietary alcohol-to-jet (ATJ) technology to produce 10 million gallons of SAF and renewable diesel annually from sustainable ethanol sources.
The new developments highlight the efforts of ethanol companies towards expanding their presence within the U.S. biofuels industry. They will play a key role in boosting growth of the U.S. ethanol industry by enhancing production efficiency, reducing costs, and promoting sustainability.
Increasing acquisitions, such as GEVO’s acquisition of Red Trail Energy, will help companies increase their ethanol production capacity in the United States. They will also help them meet growing demand for sustainable fuels like ethanol.
Companies are looking to adopt sustainable ethanol production methods to reduce their footprint. Similarly, Verbio’s increased corn-based ethanol production will make ethanol popular in various industrial applications. As a result, demand for ethanol in the United States is set to rise rapidly.
According to Coherent Market Insights (CMI), ethanol demand in the U.S. is projected to increase at 9.2% CAGR during the forecast period. Total industry size will likely reach US$ 60.66 billion by 2032.
Sources:
Company: GEVO, RCM Technologies, Verbio
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