Miller Magazine Issue: 140 August 2021

28 MILLER / august 2021 NEWS Summit Agricultural Group announces acquisition of Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy and development of North America’s largest wheat protein ingredients production facility. Summit Agricultural Group announcde the acquisition of Prairie Horizon Agri-Energy , a biorefinery in Phillipsburg, Kansas. Summit will construct a state-of-the-art wheat pro- tein ingredients facility and retrofit the existing corn-based ethanol plant to produce ethanol from wheat starch. Upon completion of the ingredients plant and final conversion, the company will be the largest wheat protein producer in North America and will generate low carbon intensity renewable fuel. “Recognizing the rising demand for high protein in- gredients and innovative feed products, coupled with renewable fuels that reduce our carbon footprint, this investment fits with what we have successfully done many times in Summit’s history. We evaluated several sites in various wheat-growing areas and Prairie Hori- zon is ideally located. The wheat protein we will pro- duce is a healthy ingredient used widely within baked goods, pet food and growing aquaculture feed mar- kets. Today, wheat protein demand in the US is heav- ily reliant on imports and with consumers demanding more transparency about the origins of the food they eat, we see a real opportunity,” said Bruce Rastetter, Chief Executive Officer of Summit Agricultural Group. Summit will utilize best in class construction and engi- neering providers for the project which will total more than $200 million. The ingredients plant will be operational within two years and will be the largest wheat protein facil- ity in North America. “We ran a thorough search across the US to identify the best site to execute on this strategy around plant proteins, which leverages Summit’s legacy operating in the biofu- els and agriculture sectors. Given Prairie Horizon’s direct access to abundant local wheat production and Kansas’ business-friendly environment, we believe we have a sig- nificant advantage. Our investment will bring additional jobs to rural America, increase the domestic supply of sus- tainable protein ingredients, reduce reliance on imports, and further reduce our carbon footprint through this prov- en process,” said Justin Kirchhoff, President of Summit Ag Investors. This project is another example of Summit’s innovative approach and focus on decarbonization at the intersection of the agriculture and energy industries. Summit Carbon Solutions, a separate portfolio company of Summit Agricul- tural Group, is pioneering the development of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage infrastructure project. Summit acquires Kansas-based Prairie Horizon