Sustainable camelina-based aviation fuel arrives at MSP
September 25, 2024
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Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blended with winter camelina, a cover crop that Minnetonka-based Cargill helped grow using innovations from the University of Minnesota's Forever Green Initiative, arrived at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport this fall. Delta Airlines and the Minnesota SAF Hub celebrated with a symbolic flight to mark the milestone of SAF entering the MSP fuel supply for the first time.
Delta aims to one day make MSP the first airport where all of its flights use SAF.
"The fact that this first flight is fueled with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) made from camelina, an innovative regenerative agricultural crop grown in Minnesota, is a breakthrough far beyond what we thought possible just six months ago. Our partners at Cargill and the University of Minnesota deserve special thanks for their contributions, which made this innovation possible," said Peter Frosch, President and CEO of the GREATER MSP Partnership.
Cargill worked with Minnesota and North Dakota growers last fall to plant 2,000 acres of winter camelina, which was harvested this summer and used as a feedstock for the SAF. The Forever Green Initiative supported this pilot through technical and financial assistance provided via the Environmental and Economic Clusters of Opportunity program, which is funded by the Clean Water Fund.
Read coverage from the Star Tribune and AgWeek.
The Minnesota SAF Hub is the nation’s first large-scale hub committed to scaling production of sustainable aviation fuel to replace conventional jet fuel. The Minnesota SAF Hub is a coalition anchored by Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Ecolab, and Xcel Energy. These anchor companies are joined by other leading organizations, such as the State of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (which owns and operates MSP Airport), the University of Minnesota, and many others.
