POET has partnered with Antora Energy to launch a 5-gigawatt-hour thermal energy storage facility in Big Stone City, South Dakota, making it among the world's largest energy storage plants. The system stores excess wind energy in carbon blocks heated to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which can later power POET's adjacent ethanol plant. The facility, Antora's first commercial production site, was built in under a year and supported 300 construction jobs. It aims to increase ethanol production efficiency, expand markets for South Dakota corn growers, and reduce fossil fuel reliance. The project received bipartisan support and was funded primarily through private investment led by Grok Ventures. The plant is already providing power to POET's facility, which produces 92 million gallons of ethanol annually, and should be fully operational by October.

POET, the world's largest biofuels producer, and Antora Energy have commissioned a 5 gigawatt-hour thermal energy storage system at POET's Big Stone City, South Dakota facility. The project advanced from construction to delivering energy in under 12 months and ranks among the world's largest energy storage projects by capacity. Antora's thermal batteries store electricity as heat in carbon blocks, providing POET with around-the-clock energy under a long-term agreement. The system enables increased bioethanol production and creates tens of millions of dollars annually in new market opportunities for South Dakota farmers. The project supported over 300 manufacturing and construction jobs across South Dakota and California. Grok Ventures provided project-level financing as the sole external investor. The system will be fully operational later this year.

CF Industries and POET have launched a pilot project with major agricultural cooperatives to develop a low-carbon fertiliser supply chain. The initiative aims to reduce the carbon intensity of corn and enable production of low-carbon ethanol for motor fuel and export. The pilot includes WinField United, NuWay-K&H, New Cooperative and Farmer's Cooperative. Participants will track low-carbon fertiliser from CF Industries' production through retail distribution to corn growers across Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska. POET will then use the corn to produce an estimated 5-6 million gallons of lower carbon intensity ethanol. CF Industries produces low-carbon ammonia at its Donaldsonville Complex by capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide emissions underground. At full capacity, the facility can produce up to 1.9 million tonnes annually, meeting fertiliser requirements for 19-22 million acres of planted corn.