February 19, 2026. – Whitefox Technologies is pleased to announce the addition of three new customers in the United States, unlocking 174 million gallons per year of total ethanol capacity through distillation and dehydration upgrades and leveraging its proprietary membrane technology. The projects will come online in late 2026 and 2027 and include two Whitefox ICE® systems and one Whitefox ICE® XL, bringing the total annual production of ethanol through Whitefox systems to 553 million gallons per year. 

In early February, Chief Ethanol announced that it will be modernizing its Hastings, Nebraska ethanol facility by installing a state-of-the-art greenfield distillation, dehydration, and evaporation (DD&E) system. The new system integrates the Whitefox ICE®- XL technology platform into a broader plant upgrade designed in partnership with Fluid Quip Technologies. The design takes advantage of the membrane’s key qualities, including reduced energy demand in dehydration and a wide operating range, allowing for optimization of distillation and better overall performance. This design will be the fourth sole membrane dehydration system in Whitefox’s customer portfolio, joining Western Plains Energy in Oakley, Kansas and two BGW facilities in Poland.

“When building our strategy to modernize our Hastings facility, the incorporation of membranes quickly became an advantage we knew we wanted to take in order to prepare for the future,” said Wayne Garrett, General Manager of Chief Ethanol. “By working with Whitefox, we are accessing the most efficient dehydration technology in the market and leveraging their processing expertise to build a highly energy efficient system, ultimately setting a new industry standard.”

Whitefox kicks off 2026 with two new Whitefox ICE® projects underway, including at Husker Ag in Plainview, Nebraska. The addition of new customers comes after five new systems came online in 2025, comprising of four new Whitefox® ICE systems, at Siouxland Energy Cooperative, Glacial Lakes Energy, Lincolnway Energy, and Alco Energy Canada, and a Whitefox ICE® Plus at Redfield Energy. Shortly after installation, Lincolnway Energy announced that it had hit record production rates reaching 100 million gallons per year.

“Following the successful commissioning at Linconlway Energy, I was eager to pursue similar efficiency and capacity gains at Husker Ag,” said Seth Harder, CEO of Husker Ag and Lincolnway Energy. “Installing the Whitefox ICE® at Husker allows us to increase our capacity while reducing our natural gas consumption, both of which are critical to maximizing our returns during the 45Z period.” 

“Incorporating membranes into a facility’s infrastructure enables producers to better prepare for the future,” said Jeff Scharping, Commercial Director for Whitefox. “Not only does it allow them to make more ethanol with less natural gas, water, and electricity, but they leave behind the shortcomings of previous generations of technologies that dehydrate less efficiently than membranes. We appreciate our customers for helping Whitefox’s market share grow in North America as more plants commit to entering the new era of DD&E with membranes.” 

These projects represent Whitefox’s ongoing commitment to enabling ethanol producers to meet growing demand and boost profitability by cutting costs and carbon intensity. Once the projects are online, Whitefox will have 24 systems operating across the world with over 1.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced with its membranes since the company’s inception in 2000. 

ABOUT HUSKER AG ENERGY

Husker Ag Energy is a Nebraska limited liability company that operates a 115,000,000-gallon dry mill ethanol plant located in Plainview, Nebraska. Husker has been processing corn into fuel grade ethanol and distillers’ grains at the plant since March 2003. To learn more, visit www.huskerag.com.

ABOUT Chief Ethanol

Chief Ethanol is a leading ethanol producer and a brand of Chief Industries, Inc., headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska. Chief Ethanol operates ethanol production facilities in Hastings and Lexington, Nebraska, and is committed to operational excellence, continuous improvement, and long-term investment in advanced technologies that enhance efficiency and performance. Chief Ethanol focuses on optimizing plant operations, reducing energy and resource use, and positioning its facilities for sustained success in an evolving biofuels marketplace. For more information, visit www.chiefethanol.com. 
Chief Industries, Inc. Contact 
Beth Frerichs: 308-389-7452 | beth.frerichs@chiefind.com 

ABOUT WHITEFOX TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED  

Since 2000, Whitefox has specialized in technology development and innovation based on its proprietary membrane solutions to enable industry to be more sustainable by reducing costs, energy, water and carbon. Whitefox’s solutions use membrane-based technology to produce ethanol and other chemicals to the highest market standards in the most energy and water efficient way. Whitefox provides solutions for different types of organic solvents, biofuels, and renewable chemicals across markets and continues to develop solutions for different industrial separations. www.whitefoxtechnologies.com. 
Whitefox Technologies Contact 
Jackie Hayes: 402.819.4105 | jhayes@whitefoxtechnologies.com