Delta’s trade main full-court press on Sustainable Aviation Gasoline continues at Midwest Hubs.
For the primary time in each Minnesota’s and Michigan’s aviation historical past, sustainable aviation gasoline (SAF) has arrived by way of pipeline to 2 Delta hubs, Minneapolis-St. Paul Worldwide Airport (MSP) and Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). The 2 7,000+-gallon shipments of SAF had been constituted of Minnesota and North Dakota-grown winter camelina1 as a part of Delta’s work with the Minnesota SAF Hub coalition.
The ability of the Minnesota SAF Hub and the worth of invested partnerships had been on full show, because the community of each coalition members and out of doors companions got here collectively throughout the worth chain to work collectively to in the end ship SAF to MSP and DTW:
- Cargill labored with Minnesota and North Dakota growers final fall to plant 2,000 acres of winter camelina, which was harvested this summer time and used as a feedstock for the SAF.
- The camelina was processed at Cargill’s West Fargo crush plant after which despatched on to Montana Renewables, LLC (MRL), the place it was refined and blended into SAF.
- The camelina SAF was offered to Delta and transported by Shell Aviation from Montana Renewables straight:
- In Minnesota, to the MSP Airport fueling facility the place it entered the MSP gasoline provide.
- In Michigan, to a Buckeye Companions facility in Dearborn, Michigan the place it was then pumped straight by way of pipeline to DTW.
- Delta coated the price of SAF wanted for each airports to make use of the SAF on Delta flights
Amelia DeLuca, Delta Chief Sustainability Officer, mentioned:
The truth that SAF has been delivered to MSP and DTW is monumental as a result of not solely is it the primary time SAF has arrived at these airports, each of that are essential Delta hubs.
nevertheless it additionally demonstrates why collaboration cross the complete SAF worth chain is so essential – we’d like all the precise stakeholders and companions on the desk to drive outcomes,”
The supply of SAF was additionally made attainable by present federal and state insurance policies, just like the Inflation Discount Act and Minnesota’s SAF credit score. Delta is working throughout key states for continued and new authorities incentives to extend manufacturing, enhance cost-competitiveness and degree the enjoying discipline from farmers to producers for extra equitable entry to SAF.
Delta’s work to succeed in net-zero emissions by 2050 whereas delivering a extra sustainable way forward for journey focuses on what we fly, how we fly and the gasoline we use. With round 90% of Delta’s carbon emissions coming from jet gasoline, SAF is one of the best and quickest recognized option to cut back carbon emissions within the close to time period on our journey to net-zero emissions by 2050.
SAF is a secure and licensed various jet gasoline that can cut back lifecycle carbon emissions of jet gasoline by greater than 80% in comparison with standard jet gasoline. Nonetheless, as a nascent trade, there’s not sufficient SAF being produced right this moment to gasoline the world’s airways for a single week, and it isn’t at a commercially viable value level. For this reason the work to scale SAF in Minnesota and Michigan is so important, and why coalitions just like the Minnesota SAF Hub can drive outcomes that ship SAF on to our hubs.
Over the past yr, the Minnesota SAF Hub, of which Delta is an anchor companion, has made significant progress towards working the primary large-scale, end-to-end SAF worth chain within the US. In Sept. 2024, Delta and the Minnesota SAF Hub introduced main milestones, together with the primary mixing facility in Minnesota in collaboration with Delta and Flint Hills Assets. The ability will mix as much as 30 million gallons of neat SAF at its Pine Mix Refinery in Minnesota and is anticipated to be operational by the tip of 2025.
Whereas SAF manufacturing is scaling, the fact is that offer right this moment stays restricted and it isn’t at all times bodily accessible on the proper location. Moderately than transporting SAF from the place it’s produced usually in California and shortly in Minnesota, to the place airways want it, the trade makes use of a “e-book and declare” mannequin to allow uplift of SAF the place it’s accessible to displace standard jet gasoline, and declare it wherever it’s wanted. That’s what Delta did on two notable flights this previous summer time – one to Normandy to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion and a second for the LA28 Flag Flight the place it carried the Olympic flag from Paris to Los Angeles. This mannequin is the optimum option to make the most of current SAF with out creating better emissions by transporting it farther away from the place it’s produced. In different instances, like in Minnesota and Michigan now, SAF may be dropped into current gasoline provide instead of standard jet gasoline in the identical location the place it will likely be claimed.
Though Delta is just not flying 100% SAF flights, the complexity of decarbonization means nobody firm or trade can do it alone – it takes all of us working collectively to construct a extra sustainable way forward for flight. That’s why the Minnesota SAF Hub’s work is so essential – it really works collectively throughout the complete SAF worth chain to develop smart methods to provide, course of and ship SAF; and it will probably function the blueprint for a mannequin that may be replicated to scale SAF throughout the nation.
1 This SAF is constituted of the winter camelina plant that produces an oil wealthy seed, which may be crushed, refined and used to provide SAF. It has one of many decrease carbon depth scores of the various feedstocks getting used for SAF manufacturing right this moment. It is usually one of many many feedstocks present in Minnesota that can be utilized to provide SAF, together with corn, soybeans, canola, steady dwelling cowl crops, agricultural biomass, woody biomass, hydrogen, waste oils, fat and extra.
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Delta’s trade main full-court press on Sustainable Aviation Gasoline continues at Midwest Hubs. supply
