The Delta Air Lines flight will depart Wednesday afternoon for New York using fuel blended with cover crop winter camelina that Minnetonka-based Cargill helped grow.

By Caleb Fravel

Special to the Minnesota Star Tribune

September 25, 2024 at 2:42PM

Anna teeter, a novel oil seeds program manager with Cargill, takes samples with farmer Paul Novotny as he harvests his field of camelina, an intermediate oilseed that could revolutionize the future of agriculture, Thursday, June 27, 2024 in Chatfield, Minn. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The first batch of sustainable aviation fuel made from Minnesota and North Dakota grown crops arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Tuesday, a landmark in efforts to reduce air emissions.

And Wednesday afternoon, that fuel will help power its first flight: a 4 p.m. takeoff for a 7:30 p.m. arrival in New York during the city’s climate week. Delta Air Lines, which uses MSP as one of its major hubs, will cover the cost of the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that will replace traditional jet fuel for its flight.

“This initial SAF delivery is another example of how we are making SAF real in Minnesota and showing the world how to do it right,” said Peter Frosch, president and CEO of Greater MSP , in a news release. “We are highlighting the first SAF flight from MSP International as another major milestone in our push to build a SAF economy anchored in Minnesota.”

The Minnesota SAF Hub, a coalition Greater MSP leads, orchestrated this moment as part of its larger mission to decarbonize the airline industry.

The aviation industry accounts for about 2% of the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Each year, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines burns through about 250 million gallons of fuel at MSP, its second-biggest hub, according to the airline . When combined with jet fuel, SAF can these reduce carbon emissions by more than 80%, per Greater MSP.

Farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota partnered with Minnetonka-based Cargill to produce 2,000 acres of cover crop winter camelina, harvested this summer, processed at a Cargill plant in West Fargo and transported to Montana for blending into SAF. By late 2025, a facility in Pine Bend will blend the SAF locally.

Winter camelina, planted in the fall and harvested in the summer, has oil-rich seeds crushed and refined to produce SAF. The plant also provides soil cover during non-growing seasons.

“This first batch of camelina SAF is a demonstration of how we plan to decarbonize air travel and improve water quality on agricultural lands while providing new income sources for farmers in and around Minnesota,” Frosch said in the release.

Caleb.Fravel@startribune.com is a University of Minnesota student reporter on assignment for the Star Tribune.