Sustainable Airline Fuel production inching closer to reality in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — A breakthrough in the fight against climate change is happening in Minnesota.

Last year, Xcel Energy Executive Vice President Brett Carter told WCCO that transportation is the “largest carbon-emitting industry in the country.”

Carter — along with leaders from the airline, science and banking industries — made a goal of operating the first large-scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) chain in the United States.

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was picked as a SAF Hub due to Minnesota’s “combination of air demand, existing biofuels infrastructure, a strong agricultural economy and strong research assets,” according to Greater MSP CEO Peter Frosch.

SAF is a safe and certified alternative jet fuel that can reduce lifestyle carbon emissions by 80%.

According to Virgin Atlantic, SAF is made from a combination of used cooking oil, non-food crops, solid waste and industrial waste gases. No retrofitting is needed for the fuel to be used in airplanes, and it can travel through existing pipelines.

When the Minnesota SAF Hub was created, partners made a goal for commercial aviation to reach net zero by 2050. Delta Airlines said last year it wanted 10% of its fuel at MSP Airport to be SAF by 2027, and half by 2035.

That’s a feat that doesn’t happen overnight, but leaders on Tuesday were eager to announce several milestones toward making that dream a reality.

One of the highlights includes plans to develop the state’s first SAF blending facility at a refinery in Rosemount that will blend up to 30 million gallons.

Another milestone is the establishment of SAF production with a grant that will convert an existing ethanol fuel facilty to an integrated alcohol-to-jet-fuel facility in Luverne.

The hub is also working to make SAF cost-competitive with pledges from prominent companies like Delta and Bank of America to purchase it. And leaders are working with the University of Minnesota to eventually make it out of next-generation feedstocks. 

“Together I think that we’re creating a one-of-a-kind model here in Minnesota. A lot of people around the world are talking about SAF, not too many are doing it,” said Christophe Beck, Ecolab’s chairman and CEO. “Once again, here in Minnesota, we’re making it happen and we’re changing the world for the better.”

With the industry just starting out, there isn’t enough SAF being produced right now to fuel the world’s airline for a single week.