Green Plains Inc.(GPRE)
HQ US5% share
Major US corn ethanol producer pivoting toward biorefining (protein, renewable corn oil, sustainable aviation fuel feedstock).
agricultural · input
Corn Ethanol (fuel-grade)
Fuel-grade ethanol (99.7% purity, denatured) blended into all US gasoline at 10–15% (E10/E15) per EPA Renewable Fuel Standard. The US produces 95%+ of domestically consumed fuel ethanol from Midwest corn. Archer-Daniels-Midland, POET, Green Plains, and Valero are major producers.
5
Source countries
6
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
Goods that need this input
1 essential American goods rely on corn ethanol (fuel-grade) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Source countries
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| USUnited States | 95% |
| EUEuropean Union | 5% |
| BRBrazil | 4% |
| CNChina | 4% |
| CACanada | 1% |
Who makes it
Supplier companies
6 companies produce corn ethanol (fuel-grade).
Flint Hills Resources (Koch Industries)
HQ US4% share
Koch Industries refining/chemicals arm; one of the largest US corn-ethanol producers alongside petroleum refining.
Marquis Energy LLC
HQ US2% share
Privately held operator of one of the largest single dry-mill corn-ethanol plants in the world.
Archer Daniels Midland Co. (Corn Processing)
HQ US
American agricultural commodity processing company (NYSE: ADM, HQ Chicago IL; revenues ~$85B); one of the world's four dominant grain trading companies (ABCD: ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus). ADM corn wet milling operations (Clinton IA, Decatur IL, Columbus NE) produce pharmaceutical-grade dextrose alongside high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), corn starch, corn oil, and ethanol. ADM's pharmaceutical ingredients division (ADM Health & Nutrition) produces USP-grade dextrose for IV solution manufacturers including Baxter International. The same ADM facility that wet-mills corn into the HFCS in a Pepsi can also produces the pharmaceutical-grade glucose that goes into a hospital D5W IV bag. ADM also processed soybeans (soy lecithin for pharmaceuticals, soy protein isolates), operates global grain elevators, and was the subject of a 1996 price-fixing scandal immortalized in the book and film 'The Informant!'
POET LLC
HQ US
POET LLC (Sioux Falls SD; private; Jeff Broin CEO and founder; ~$10B estimated revenue) is the world's largest corn ethanol producer — operating 34 ethanol biorefineries across the US Midwest producing ~2.7 billion gallons of ethanol/year. POET's ethanol production generates ~7 million tons/year of distillers grains (DDGS — dried distillers grains with solubles) as a coproduct. DDGS contain ~27% crude protein and ~8% fat — making them a valuable energy-protein ingredient for feedlot cattle diets, typically replacing 30-40% of corn in finishing rations while providing high bypass protein. POET's DDGS, sold under the ProGold brand, are purchased by feedlots in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and South Dakota. The Renewable Fuel Standard's corn ethanol mandate created a massive DDGS supply stream that has reshaped feedlot nutrition — corn ethanol policy directly determines the availability and price of a major feedlot feed ingredient.
Valero Energy(VLO)
HQ US
World's largest independent petroleum refiner; 15 refineries in the US (mostly Gulf Coast: Port Arthur TX, Texas City TX, Memphis TN), Canada, UK, and Ireland. Produces elemental sulfur as a mandatory Claus Process byproduct at all its refineries. Port Arthur refinery (210,000 bbl/day capacity) is one of the largest single US refiners; McKee refinery explicitly listed as producing sulfur, sulfuric acid, and LPG. USGS: ExxonMobil, Valero, ConocoPhillips, and Marathon were the leading US sulfur producers in 2018. Texas + Louisiana account for 52% of US sulfur production.