MSP and DTW launch sustainable aviation fuel

The first two shipments of more than 7,000 gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) have been shipped to Minneapolis-St. St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) will open this fall. SAF is made from winter camelina, a cold-hardy oilseed crop grown in Minnesota and North Dakota, and is part of Delta’s partnership with the Minnesota SAF hub alliance. A network of alliance members and external partners come together across the value chain to deliver SAF to MSPs and DTWs:

• Last fall, Minneapolis-based Cargill worked with growers in Minnesota and North Dakota to plant 2,000 acres of winter camelina, which will be harvested this summer and used as feedstock for SAF.

• The camelina is processed at Cargill’s crushing facility in West Fargo, North Dakota, and then sent to Montana Renewables LLC (MRL) in Great Falls, Montana, where it is refined and blended into SAF.

• Camelina SAF is sold to Delta Air Lines and transported by Shell Aviation from Montana Renewable Energy directly to the MSP bunkering facility (where it enters MSP Fuel Supply) and the Buckeye Partners facility in Dearborn, Michigan, and then directly Pumped to MSP refueling facility. Pipeline to DTW.
• Delta Air Lines covers the SAF costs for the use of SAF on Delta Air Lines flights at both airports.

“The fact that SAF has been delivered to MSP and DTW is landmark as not only is it the first time SAF has arrived at these airports, both of which are important hubs for Delta, but it also shows why across the entire SAF value chain Collaboration is critical and so important – we need all the right stakeholders and partners involved to drive results,” said Amelia DeLuca, Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer.

Current federal and state policies, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Minnesota’s SAF credit, also make the supply of sustainable aviation fuel possible. Delta is working on ongoing new government incentives in key states to increase production, improve cost competitiveness and level the playing field for farmers and producers with more equitable access to SAF.

About 90% of Delta’s carbon emissions come from jet fuel, and using SAF is the best and fastest known method to reduce carbon emissions in recent times and is consistent with Delta’s announced goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

SAF is a safe and certified alternative aviation fuel that can reduce the life cycle carbon emissions of aviation fuel by more than 80% compared to traditional aviation fuel. However, as a nascent industry, the SAF currently produced is not enough to fuel global airlines for a week, and the price is not commercially viable. That’s why efforts to expand SAF in Minnesota and Michigan are so important, and why coalitions like the Minnesota SAF Center can promote results that ship SAF directly to centers in these states.

Last year, the Minnesota SAF Center, of which Delta is a major partner, made meaningful progress in operating the first large-scale end-to-end SAF value chain in the United States. In September, Delta and the Minnesota Air SAF Hub announced major milestones, including building the first hybrid facility in Minnesota in partnership with Delta and Flint Hills Resources. The facility will blend up to 30 million gallons of pure SAF at the Pinewood Blending Refinery in Rosemont, Minn., and is expected to be operational by the end of next year.

While the production of sustainable aviation fuel is expanding, the reality is that today’s supply is still limited and not always available in the right places. Rather than transporting SAF from where it is produced (usually in California and soon Minnesota) to where airlines need it, the industry is using a “book and claim” model to increase SAF usage to replace traditional aviation fuel, and declare it where needed. That’s what Delta did on two notable flights this summer — one from Atlanta, Georgia, to Normandy, France, commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and another flag flight, LA28, from Paris flying the Olympic flag. Los Angeles. This model is the best way to utilize existing SAF without creating greater emissions by transporting it far from where it is produced. In other cases, such as currently in Minnesota and Michigan, SAF can plug into existing fuel supplies at the same location as the claim site, replacing conventional jet fuel.

Delta Air Lines