Lincolnway Energy Implements Whitefox ICE to Hit Record Production Volumes, Reduce Energy
ACE members Lincolnway Energy and Whitefox Technologies announced the successful installation and startup of the Whitefox ICE® membrane dehydration system at Lincolnway's ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa. This advanced technology supports the company’s commitment to increasing ethanol production from corn produced by local farmers and improving operational efficiencies.
With the Whitefox ICE system now fully integrated, Lincolnway is preparing to celebrate a significant milestone - surpassing 100 million gallons of ethanol produced per year. The system works by targeting water-rich recycle streams and relieving stress on the distillation, dehydration, and evaporation unit, enabling greater overall plant capacity and efficiency, positioning the facility for continued success.
“Having the Whitefox ICE® system fully operational is a major step forward for Lincolnway,” said Jeff Taylor, Chairman Board Member at Lincolnway Energy. “We started out as a 50 million gallon per year plant in 2006, and with gradual investments and upgrades, we doubled our output to 95 million gallons per year. The Whitefox technology supported us to reach our 100-million-gallon production milestone by enhancing both capacity and energy efficiency by reducing bottlenecks to get there and reducing steam consumption."
“We’re thrilled to see Lincolnway Energy reach this important milestone,” said Gillian Harrison, CEO of Whitefox Technologies.
According to Whitefox, this installation represents the company’s ongoing commitment to enabling ethanol producers to support their local farm economies, while meeting a growing demand and boosting profitability by cutting energy costs. Whitefox says there are more than 20 systems installed across the world and 1 billion gallons produced with its membranes.
According to the company, Whitefox ICE® can boost plant capacity by up to 30%, reduce natural gas consumption by up to 15%, lower carbon intensity by up to 2.5 points, and decrease cooling water demand.
ACE Expands Market Development Efforts with New E15 Tool, Tradeshow Presence
The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) introduced a powerful new tool in September at the California Fuels + Convenience Alliance (CFCA) Summit to help fuel marketers seize the opportunity of E15: the E15 Cost Calculator, now live at flexfuelforward.com. Along with the CFCA Summit, ACE demonstrated the E15 Cost Calculator at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show in October, helping retailers see what they could gain by adding E15 to their fuel slate.
The rollout of ACE’s new online calculator was timely as California recently approved of E15, helping equip California retailers and others across the nation with a resource to plug in real-time data to compare the costs and potential profits of selling E15 versus E10. It provides station-specific insights, including applicable state and federal tax credits, to show whether offering E15 can boost the bottom line.
“We've taken part in every trade show this organization [CF+CA] has held since 2000, when California was gearing up to switch to E10, and this reminds me a lot of that,” said Ron Lamberty, chief marketing officer of ACE. “What retailers wanted to know then is, ‘Can I make more money selling this new fuel?’ and ‘Can I sell it using my existing equipment?’ The questions are the same today. Fortunately, the answer to both is almost always ‘Yes,’ and these tools let retailers find that out using their own real-world numbers.”
The E15 Cost Calculator is the latest addition to FlexFuelForward.com — ACE’s digital hub tailored to fuel marketers. It joins the Flex Check tool, which helps station owners quickly determine if their existing equipment is compatible with E15.
ACE's Ron Lamberty and Anna Carpenter attended the 2025 NACS Show in Chicago.
