A coalition of companies including Delta Air Lines has
created a "hub" in Minnesota to drive production of sustainable
aviation fuel, with the aim of bringing "commercial-scale volumes" of
the fuel to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as soon as 2025, Delta
announced.
Anchor members of the newly established Minnesota SAF Hub
include Delta, Bank of America, water treatment company Ecolab and utility company
Xcel Energy, along with other participants including the state of Minnesota.
The coalition seeks a "phased approach" to scale SAF production,
beginning by bringing in SAF from out of state. It also is working with current
and prospective producers to boost SAF production in Minnesota, in particular
by converting ethanol in the state to jet fuel. The public-private coalition plans
to bring in additional investors and corporate partners.
The Minneapolis-St Paul airport is one of Delta's largest
global hubs, where it uses about 250 million gallons of jet fuel each year,
according to Delta. The carrier has set a target of using SAF for 10 percent of
its fuel needs at the airport by 2027 and 50 percent by 2035.
"The Minnesota SAF Hub is the game changer aviation
needs to start producing SAF at the volumes required to meet our aggressive
goals," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement. "This coalition of
heavy hitters from across the SAF ecosystem are collaborating to rapidly scale
production, demonstrating the power of partnership to meet our shared goal
faster than any of us could on our own."
Current production levels of SAF productions are currently
not sufficient to fuel global airlines for even a single day of operations,
Delta said.
The coalition also has a goal of cutting down the carbon
impact of SAF production including through carbon capture and regenerative
agricultural practices. It also will focus on "water stewardship"
throughout the production process, according to Delta.