CLOVERDALE, INDIANA, US — POET announced plans May 25 to restart its bioprocessing facility in Cloverdale, Indiana, US, which had been idled since 2019, and begin operations by 2023.

POET is planning to invest $30 million in new technology to create operational efficiencies that will position the facility for long-term success and increase its annual production rate from 80 million to 95 million gallons of bioethanol. It is expected to generate demand for 34 million bushels of corn from Indiana farmers annually.

Restarting the Cloverdale facility, which will create 50 full-time jobs, will bring POET’s network to a total of 34 bioprocessing plants across eight Midwest states, five of which are in Indiana. 

“We are very excited to be reopening our Cloverdale facility,” said Jeff Broin, founder and chief executive officer of POET. “The plant will undergo significant upgrades to include the same industry-leading advantages operating at other POET plants, and we are confident it will be a strong asset to the POET portfolio. We are grateful to the Putnam County Council and the Putnam County Economic Development Corp. for supporting this investment.”

POET cited April’s action by the Biden administration to lift restrictions on year-round use of E15, a 15% bioethanol blend with gasoline, and Indiana government’s “strong support” for E15 as among its reasons to reopen the facility.

“POET’s bioprocessing plants produce low-cost, low-carbon biofuels, bioCO2, high-protein animal feed and a growing suite of other bioproducts from American grain,” Broin said. “These facilities are good for farmers, good for rural communities, and good for the world, and we look forward to the positive impacts POET – Cloverdale will create in the years to come.”