MSP celebrates sustainable aviation fuel accomplishments

The first shipment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) arrived at MSP Airport last month as airport leaders and partners celebrated the first anniversary of the Minnesota SAF Hub. 

A pioneering effort with Greater MSP, Delta Air Lines and other corporate, government and regional organizations, the hub aims to foster the use of sustainable, low-carbon aviation fuel in Minnesota to replace conventional jet fuel and reduce the aviation industry’s greenhouse gas emissions. As a major hub with 17 airlines, including Delta Air Lines, MSP Airport plays a key role in the first-of-its-kind coalition. Delta aims for 10% SAF usage in the U.S. by 2030, and Minnesota is home to numerous corporate customers looking to move to SAF. 

One year after the September 2023 launch of the SAF Hub, the first 7,000-gallon shipment of blended SAF arrived at MSP Airport’s fueling facility and powered a ceremonial Delta flight to New York City on Sept. 25. The fuel was made from winter camelina, a cultivated oilseed cover crop that was grown in Minnesota and North Dakota, and refined and blended into SAF in Montana. 

A $16.8 million federal grant announced in August will allow Minnesota crops to be converted to sustainable fuel within the state, at a SAF production facility in Luverne. And last month, the SAF Hub coalition announced its first blending facility in Rosemount, Minnesota, where the sustainable fuel will be blended with traditional jet fuel, a necessary step to allow the fuel to be used in aircraft. The Flint Hills Resources refinery will blend up to 30 million gallons of neat SAF per year and deliver the blended fuel via an existing pipeline to MSP Airport.  

The MAC is committed to supporting our airline partners in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and to reducing our own emissions from airport buildings and operations. At the end of 2023, the MAC was 43% of the way toward meeting its goal to reduce MSP emissions 80% by 2030 (from a 2014/15 baseline). Learn more about the SAF Hub at mnsafhub.org.