A larger share of what we do will be in the 50 pro markets and that will be offshore. We have sold some 60% protein commercially in smaller beginning quantities and are in the process of finishing some commercial feed trials with some larger potential customers and have begun price negotiations for a larger share of the recipes and rations that they have. As with any new product brought to market, we are executing the necessary steps to develop a large-scale program, including setting up a global supply chain, and importantly, we are making sure we get paid for what the product is worth. We can continue to believe we are on track to convert 20% to 30% of our portfolio to 60-pro sales as we exit ’24 and expand that in ’25. Our current discussions are indicating strong demand for these higher protein levels.
While we all want it to happen today, we believe this is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Additionally, our innovation team is focused on developing new and exciting product attributes commonly unaddressable by macro ingredients such as bulk proteins. For example, the team is in advanced stages, very late stage, of some novel product enhancements and expect to start customer-specific validation work later in the year. The innovation team is also implementing a new research solution to accelerate fermentation recipe developments for both our core products and our ingredient platform. Lastly, we are excited to be launching our branded products for 60% protein later in the first quarter, so stay tuned as we move through 2024. So to reflect on what we have accomplished, we have increased 50% protein production and sales in Q4, broadening our domestic and export customer base, completed a commercial run on 60% protein, have verification of great digestibility and excellent amino acid profiles, and have started to sell 60% protein to Europe, Middle East and Asia, with South America as the final prize.
Let’s not forget, it is a brand-new product and we are also new as a supplier, so a lot of things have to be set up to do a large-scale program, including a brand-new end-to-end supply chain on this product and we continue to work every day very hard on this with the team we’ve put in place. Beyond dextrose and protein, probably the most important part of what we are trying to do is focus on the opportunities to decarbonize our platform and produce low-carbon alcohols. We have diversified our carbon strategy across multiple carbon capture system pipeline projects and continue to explore alternatives for our non-pipeline locations. Our three Nebraska plants, which represent 287 million gallons of our production, should come online in mid-2025, and we anticipate having some additional updates on the progress of the well-permitting and compression equipment in the coming weeks and months.
Given this project already has its main trunkline in the ground as a repurposed natural gas pipeline and that sequestration would occur in Wyoming, which has primacy and has already begun to approve Class VI wells, we are highly confident that Nebraska Biofuels will have an early advantage over ethanol plants that aren’t positioned for carbon capture at this time. Decarbonizing these plants and the industry as a whole enables the production of lower-carbon-intensity ethanol, positioning it to eventually be a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel production, but also to have lower-carbon-intensity facilities that still make valuable animal feed ingredients and renewable corn oils. Our two Iowa and two Minnesota plants, which represent 316 million gallons of production, are on the Summit Carbon Solutions Project, which we expect to get state-level approval in Iowa and North Dakota early this year.
They continue to work on a path forward in South Dakota, and we expect this project to be operational in late 2026. That’s still in time to participate in the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit. The Treasury Department has indicated that an updated version of the GREET model will be utilized for SAF Tax credits, and importantly, that CCS and Climate Smart Ag Practices will count towards lowering CI. We expect the updated GREET model in early March, and then we will have a better sense of our role of our decarbonized ethanol can play in a growing market for alcohol-to-jet sustainable aviation fuel. Today, Brazilian ethanol and so-called used cooking oil from China qualify to be imported for sustainable aviation fuel and receive U.S. tax credits, so it’s only right that American corn farmers and soy farmers have the same opportunity after billions of dollars of investments they have made over the years to grow the U.S. biofuels industry.
Remember that under 45Z, our renewable corn oil would be advantaged to other vegetable oils. Rather than the dollar-per-gallon blender credit for every RD or biodiesel gallon, these fuels will soon be judged on the CI of the feedstock, and we anticipate our corn oil will be in high demand as a low CI feedstock for producing RD and sustainable aviation fuel. With the latest decline in vegetable oil prices, we have seen those revenues under pressure, with current pricing in the mid-to-high $0.40 per pound, but 2025 is when we are an advantaged feedstock in totality. So to recap this section, we are very excited about the opportunity right in front of us, starting for our first clean sugar facility, 60% commercialization for protein, bringing on our Tharaldson JV online, and positioning our Nebraska assets for decarbonization.
Finally, another important milestone upon us is the upcoming commissioning of the collaboration with our Fluid Quip MSC Technology, combined with Shell Fiber Conversion Technology at our York, Nebraska location. We haven’t talked about this much since we announced it last July, but we are excited about the long-term potential that this game-changing collaboration can have. Combining Shell’s Fiber Conversion Technology with MSC from Fluid Quip Technologies, we expect to be able to extract all available renewable corn oil from the kernel, produce cellulosic sugars from the fiber that can be made into low-CI cellulosic ethanol, and reduce further our production or further enhance our production of high-protein feed ingredients. More to come on this as we bring the facility online beginning later this quarter, but now it’s really worth paying attention to.
When we set out on this transformation several years ago, we had a 2025 target laid out, and this remains intact with some variability on how we get there, some based on the pricing like veg oils, some based on the timing and some based on allocation of capital to the best returning projects. A lot has happened since then. The biggest thing is the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and how products are treated that we produce, but more importantly, the incentive programs. So when we look at 2025 full year and exit rate, we remain in the guidance ranges we had originally laid out with an upside case as well. The opportunity to achieve early decarbonization, particularly in Nebraska, is leading us to rethink our capital allocation strategy.
We’re in the process of reviewing additional opportunities to more efficiently decarbonize and even expand production in Nebraska at our three sites. More to come on this as these projects come into view, but with the incentives that are now in place, how do we not participate with the advantage we have geographically at Green Plains? As we exit ’25, carbon alone in Nebraska represents over $100 million a year opportunity, and we can reduce our carbon intensity even more and then when summits carbon comes online, watch out what the earnings power we’ll have in our carbon strategies business. So think about the business and platform this way. With a cleaned up structure, it’s very easy. Our depreciation and interest are approximately $130 million per year at this point.
So looking at our 2025 opportunity and beyond, free cash flow generation could be significant with the capital invested in MSC, an additional TST facility, expanded carbon capture in Iowa and Minnesota gets activated, and renewable corn oil is further advantaged through 45Z, not including the potential upside from our low CI alcohol and our SFCT additional ability to grab more of the high value products. We are close and getting closer every day to our goal set out a few years ago. The value of our technology portfolio is next, and we believe we have a significant upside there as well. So with that, I’ll leave it there, and thanks for joining the call today, and we can start the Q&A session.
Operator: [Operator instructions] We’ll go first to Kristen Owen at Oppenheimer.
Kristen Owen: Great, thank you for taking the question. Todd, I realize the answer to this is probably all of the above, but I want to start here with your comments on just all of the milestones that you’re expecting in 2024 on track to the 2025 EBITDA run rate. Given that the stock is now trading below your replacement value, I want to ask you, what’s the fulcrum that tips the balance for GPRE into this 2.0 transformation? We’ve kind of seen what is to come on protein. Is it sugar? Is it carbon? Like, what really tips the scales here, and how do we think about that in the context of this replacement value, sort of valuation discussion?
Todd Becker: I think when we look at what’s the fulcrum, it’s really going to come through free cash flow generation and when we think about how we’ve cleaned up our structure, and we look at the opportunity in ’25, and that will begin to start generating significant free cash flow and by ’26, you’re not just zero net debt, you’re negative, you’re in the positive situation from the standpoint of you continue to build cash. And I think that’s what we really set ourselves up for, because when we kind of look at our ability to get to where we want to go, a lot of the capital has been spent, some left to be allocated, but there’s also some upside as well. So when you look at all of the segments, the IRA Act obviously is a big deal since we started this, and we think that carbon alone has increased in the opportunity.
Our ability to commercialize 60-Pro is also a big, big opportunity for us and then lastly, when we look at our clean sugar technology, and our corn oil on top of that, all of that, when you add it all together in ’25, it starts to generate significant free cash flow returns and that’s really what we set this up for, which is why we simplified this structure. Where before it was a bit convoluted in terms of how do you get the money to the bottom line, and instead of just focusing on EBITDA, we’re going to focus on EPS and free cash flow generation, but look, some things have to happen. We’ve got to get clean sugar up and running, we’ve got to think about where number two is going to be, we’ve got to continue to build out our protein systems, and continue to commercialize 60-Pro and we would like to see a bit of a recovery in value-added prices, but that advantage that comes in is something we’re looking forward to in ’25, but I think the bigger thing really is this base ability to get a return on carbon capture is something we didn’t really plan on being this interesting and I think when you add all that together, that’s why I think at this point, not including the base fuel, which by the way, we believe will be more valuable as you decarbonize.
When you — that’s why we at this point, we think that ’25 range of guidance that we have put out there is still solid, but it all comes down to the structure of income statement and I think the structure of income statement is changing dramatically with our ability to get money to the bottom line very easily now.
