ACE member East Kansas Agri-Energy (EKAE) in Garnett, Kansas, marked its 20th anniversary on June 10, 2025. Built in just eight months in 2005 by local farmers and business leaders, EKAE quickly made its mark—reaching full capacity just three days after opening.
Today, EKAE is one of Garnett’s largest employers, processing 17 million bushels of locally grown corn each year into over 50 million gallons of ethanol. The plant also produces 280,000 tons of distillers grain, corn oil, and renewable diesel. In 2014, EKAE began building a bolt-on renewable diesel unit, becoming one of the few U.S. facilities converting the same corn kernel into both ethanol and drop-in diesel. Production began in 2017, and EKAE now ships low-carbon diesel to West Coast markets through a partnership with Pearson Fuels. 
EKAE will celebrate this milestone with a steak lunch for unit holders at its annual meeting on August 16. The event will feature a Fireside Chat between EKAE CEO Bill Pracht and Kevin Van Trump of the Van Trump Report, along with remarks from Dave VanderGriend, founder and CEO of ICM, Inc. Congratulations to EKAE on 20 years of innovation and impact!
25 Years of Innovation: Whitefox Honors Its Early Adopters
In June, ACE member Whitefox Technologies celebrated 25 years of innovation and its growing impact on the U.S. ethanol industry since entering the market in 2015. CEO Gillian Harrison reflected on early road trips across the Midwest, learning from producers and laying the groundwork for the Whitefox ICE® system—a solution designed to boost plant efficiency while cutting steam, water use, and emissions. She recalled the challenge of convincing early adopters until meeting Neil Koehler of Pacific Ethanol, who embraced being the first to install ICE® in the U.S. From those beginnings with Pacific and Pine Lake Corn Processors to now processing over 1 billion gallons through its membrane systems, Whitefox continues to push boundaries. The recent installation of its first ICE®-XL system—a membrane-only design for a 50-million-gallon plant—at Western Plains marks another major milestone.
Whitefox also recognized pioneering customers with awards for advancing efficiency and innovation, including: BGW – first ICE sole membrane plant; Chippewa Valley Ethanol Co. – longest-running cartridges; E Energy Adams – first ICM plant; Kansas Ethanol – first ICE Flex plant; Pine Lake Corn Processors – first U.S. plant; Redfield Energy – first ICE Plus; Western Plains Energy – first ICE XL.