Summit Carbon Storage

The Summit Carbon Solutions North Dakota Storage Complex is a large-scale Class VI CO₂ geologic sequestration project developed by Summit Carbon Solutions to permanently store carbon dioxide transported via the Midwest Carbon Express (MCE) pipeline. The project consists of three permitted storage facilities—Summit Carbon Storage #1, #2, and #3—located across Mercer, Morton, and Oliver Counties, North Dakota, and collectively covering tens of thousands of acres of amalgamated pore space. The facilities are designed as a hub-scale storage system capable of receiving CO₂ from more than 50 ethanol plants across the Midwest. In total, the project is permitted to store up to ~18 million metric tons of CO₂ per year, making it one of the largest Class VI storage developments in the United States. CO₂ will be injected into the Broom Creek Formation, a deep saline sandstone reservoir with regionally extensive confining units and no known commercially viable hydrocarbon resources within the storage intervals. Injection operations are governed by conservative pressure management, with bottom-hole pressures limited to 90% of fracture pressure, and supported by extensive 3D seismic, reservoir simulation, and geomechanical modeling. The project includes multiple Class VI injection wells across the three storage facilities, dedicated monitoring wells, and a comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) program covering plume migration, pressure interference, groundwater protection, and induced seismicity. In late 2024, the North Dakota Industrial Commission formally approved the storage permits, while related legal challenges and regulatory proceedings concerning pipeline routing and pore-space aggregation continue in parallel, positioning Summit’s project as a cornerstone of Midwest biofuel decarbonization infrastructure.