April 24, 2025
Prepared by Congressman Steve King (Ret.)
From Open Sources

As far back as 2021, rumors abounded about foreign investment in Bruce
Rastetter’s Summit Carbon Solutions massive endeavor to build a 2500 mile
CO2 pipeline connecting five states and 57 ethanol plants, terminating in North
Dakota near the oil fields. Throughout the weeks-long Iowa Utility Commission
(IUC) hearings in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Summit representatives repeatedly failed to
answer specific financial questions. Bruce Rastetter refused to testify.

In addition, Summit sent priority mail “cease and desist” letters to at least eight
persons, threatening to sue those who reported on open source facts regarding
foreign investment in Summit Carbon Solutions. Further, Summit refused to
release their “plume studies,” otherwise known as the “kill zones” which
estimates the casualties if CO2 accidents occur along the route. South Dakotans
were advised they were intellectually incapable of handling the “national
security” risk.

The implication was, if a foreign adversary were to have access to the “plume
studies,” the information could be used to conduct terrorist attacks on the
pipeline in the most vulnerable locations along the route. China is a foreign
adversary. What are the chances China has access to the “plume studies?” Is
Chinese capital invested in Summit? Does that give them access to the “plume
studies?” If so, is the “Midwest Carbon Express” project a national security risk?
Or, was Summit using it as an excuse to deny access to the “plume studies” to
resistant landowners?

What follows is a chronological report on the published investors in Summit
Carbon Solutions. The information below is from Summit Carbon Solutions
website, integrated with open source information.

March 28, 2016
Brazil:
March 28, 2016, Rastetter entered into an agreement with Brazilian company
Fiagril to build several corn ethanol plants. Fiagril, a diversified Brazilian Ag
company, was founded in 1989 by Marino Jose Franz. Franz joined Rastetter in
a public announcement of their joint partnership project to build up to six
ethanol plants in Monto Grosso, a productive agriculture state in western Brazil.
They announced the formation of their joint venture that would be doing
business as FS Bioenergia. (F for Fiagril, S for Summit)

Less than a month later, in April of 2016, Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
controlled Hunan Dakang International Food & Agriculture Co Ltd. (Dakang)
purchased 57% of Fiagril for a reported price of $290 million. The purchase
allowed Fiagril to retain its seed and biofuels divisions. Dakang took control of
the fertilizer, chemicals, grain marketing, storage, and transportation divisions of
Fiagril. The effect and timing of the Chinese acquisition technically separated
Rastetter’s partnership from a now CCP company, whom I will refer to as
“Dakang/Fiagril.” The operations of FS Bioenergia do include Dakang/Fiagril as
a supplier of grain to the FS Bioenergia ethanol plants, though not as a partner.

Today, FS Bioenergia is operating at least three ethanol plants, all in Monto
Grosso. They are producing a little over 600 million gallons of corn ethanol per
year, according to reports.

April 29, 2021
Summit Carbon Solutions/U.S.
Summit announced formation of SCS on April 29, 2021. There are at least 28
LLC’s filed whose names begin with “Summit Carbon” that appear to be those
filed by or for Bruce Rastetter. There are almost certainly a good number of less
identifiable LLC corporate names.

Very little is known about the investors into Summit Carbon Solutions, LLC.
Their names are confidential except to a potential Attorney General
investigation.

Here are the published investors from Summit’s press releases:

July 28, 2021
John Deere: No amount published
No dollar figure published but John Deere appears to be the first to commit. It is
referenced as a “Strategic Investment.”

January 10, 2022
Northern Plains Nitrogen: Blue Ammonia Project
Summit announced forming a “partnership” with NPN, a company that will use
Summit’s pipeline and sequestration services. Under the agreement, Summit
would compress and transport NPN’s CO2 to the Summit CO2 disposal site.
Both are to be in North Dakota. The NPN project remains in the planning stage.
No capital investment was published. It appears to be a service contract to
transport and sequester CO2, not an equity investment by NPN.

March 2, 2022
Continental Resources (Harold Hamm): $250 million
Summit announced an investment by Continental Resources of $250 million.
This is the first dollar figure published by Summit in their equity drive. Hamm is
known as the “Father of Fracking.” He seems to be seeking the label of the
“Father of Enhanced Oil Recovery,” too.

April 5, 2022
Tiger Infrastructure Partners (TIP): $100 million
TIP was founded in 2010 by CEO Emil W. Henry, Jr. Henry served as Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury under Treasury Secretary Henry “Hank” Paulson.
Paulson referred to Emil Henry, during a Summit announcement, as “my former
colleague.” A Summit press release announced a $100 million investment to
their equity drive by TIP. In the same release, Summit announced they had
reached $600 million in “equity” to date. TIP was also an investor in FS
Bioenergia for a reported $115 million.

As of April 5, 2022, the announcement leaves $250 million in investment that is
not specific to any particular investor. It is logical to presume John Deere, other
investors such as Paul Singer and likely Rastetter himself make up the
unidentified remaining $250 million.

April 12, 2022
Xebec CO2 Capture Equipment Order: $143.2 million
The order is for 51 carbon dioxide reciprocation compression packages. This
order is, of course, not part of the equity drive but does highlight the confidence
Summit had in their project’s potential success.

May 11, 2022
TPG Rise Climate Fund: $300 million
Summit announced they have reached their equity drive goal of $1 billion with
an investment of $300 million by TPG Rise Climate Fund.

TPG is itself an investment company with a number of different divisions, among
which is TPG Rise Climate Fund. The Executive Chairman of TPG Rise Climate
Fund is Henry Paulson, formerly CEO of Goldman Sachs and formerly Secretary
of the Treasury under Bush 43. Paulson’s nearly singular career focus has been
in China where he has advised and facilitated numerous IPO’s for CCP
controlled startups, also for existing companies. In the process, Paulson’s very
extensive ties to China and the CCP include at least 70 trips to the communist
nation. Paulson founded the Paulson Institute in 2011, a think tank focused on
U.S. — China relations.

As strong as Paulson’s record is of swimming with the CCP, the gun is not yet
smoking. In the initial fund drive for TGP Rise Climate, CCP controlled Silk Road
Fund is on record as an anchor investor which translates into about a 10%
holding in TPG Rise Climate or in the neighborhood of of $500 million. The
fund’s final closing date was April 27, 2022. Two weeks later, May 12, 2022,
Summit announced a $300 million investment by TPG Rise Climate.

Whether Communist controlled Silk Road Fund directed the investment or asked
Paulson to direct it, will remain unknown. What is known is that money is
fungible and perhaps 10% of TPG Rise Climate’s capital is that of Silk Road
Fund—Chinese funds—CCP’s investment. In taking a broader view of TPG Rise
Climate Coalition, Silk Road Fund is only part of the China centric fund. To quote
TPG Rise themselves, they are “comprised of more than 20 founding companies
and members…” They are admittedly multi-national corporations, among them,
Smithfield Foods, which is fully Chinese owned. Every one of the 20 TPG Rise
Climate Coalition founding members has operations in China. Each and every
one.

“The Rise Climate Coalition is comprised of more than 20
founding companies and members including 3M, ADM, Allianz,
Allstate, Alphabet, Apple, AXA, Bank of America, Boeing, Dow,
Exor, FedEx, GE, General Motors, Honeywell, John Deere,
Michael R. Bloomberg, NIKE, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation, Smithfield Foods, and TD Bank Group.”

It is likely that Emil W. Henry, Jr., (former colleague of Paulsons) whose Tiger
Infrastructure Partners (TIP) was an original investor in Rastetter’s FS Bioenergia,
brought Henry Paulson’s China focused TPG Rise Climate Fund to the table.
TIP’s investment secured a seat on the board of Summit Carbon Solutions for
Emil Henry. No other board members are published. It is reasonable to expect a
seat for Henry Paulson, Harold Hamm and other major investors, yet to be
named.

May 12, 2022
SK E&S: $110 million
SK E&S is a South Korean company with a global reach. They have had
extensive operations in mainland China. In the past it was reported SK had 45%
of it’s workforce working for their companies in China. However, recently the
number of their workers in China has notably diminished. SK E&S remains a
foreign company with China ties, regardless of their recent efforts to reduce their
holdings in China.

SK E&S is also a partner with Harold Hamm of Continental Resources with
whom they share several ventures, inside and outside the United States. It
appears more than likely that Harold Hamm brought the South Korean company
to the investment table. It is likely SK E&S also secured a seat on the Summit
Carbon board.

March 19, 2021
Ambassador Terry Branstad
Terry Branstad’s relationship with President Xi of China began in 1985 and
continues to this day. Their meetings were many, not all reported. When
Branstad became Ambassador, he was enabled to set up shop in China and
expand his relationships with Communist Chinese leadership in politics and
business.

Branstad resigned as Ambassador, September 14, 2020, months before Trump’s
first term was over. On March 19, 2021, Branstad was named “Senior Policy
Advisor” to Summit Carbon Solutions. Then on April 29, 2021, Summit
announced the SCS pipeline project. On December 20, 2021, Branstad
announced the formation of a new consulting company, Branstad—Churchill.

The announcement of Branstad’s consulting company was promoted across the
media. Their stated mission was to be “your bridge between the U.S. and
China,…” and to provide “market strategy solutions for business development,
investment and trade opportunities, regulatory and political analysis, and public
affairs guidance.” Branstad had returned unexpectedly from China. He became
Senior Policy Advisor before Summit Carbon Solutions was announced and in
time for the equity drive. He then formed his consulting company, Branstad
Churchill Group.

It strains one’s credulity to believe, with China centric Henry Paulson’s 70 trips
to China and with his management of Red China’s Silk Road funds within TPG
Rise Climate; with TPG Rise Climate Coalitions’s 20 founding members—all with
significant operations in China—with Branstad’s abrupt resignation and return
from China to become Senior Policy Advisor for Rastetter, then to form his China
centric consulting company, and with Rastetter’s Brazilian partnership affiliated
with a CCP owned company, that there is NO Chinese investment in Summit
Carbon Solutions 2500 mile CO2 Boondoggle pipeline project.

A healthy skepticism also requires one to consider Summit Carbon Solutions’
known investors are only those they publish and place on their website. That is,
the investors Rastetter wants the public to know about. There are investors of a
few hundred million dollars who are not identified.