Minnesota’s Game-Changer: How This Local Crop is Powering Flights

Something big just happened at MSP Airport, and it wasn't just another delayed flight. Nope, this was something way cooler – something that could change the way we think about air travel.

It involves a plant you might not have heard of, and some dedicated researchers at the University of Minnesota have been working with partners on a new fuel from this plant harvested in Minnesota and North Dakota.

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Minnesota is looking to become a leader in Sustainable Aviation Fuel or SAF, a partnership of some big Minnesota corporations including Ecolab, Xcel Energy, Delta and others is working to reduce the amount of emissions from air travel.

It's estimated that 3% of global air emissions are directly due to air travel, and the industry is working to reach zero by 2050, and this new SAF developed in Minnesota could be the solution. The goal of the "Minnesota SAF Hub" is to make 1 billion gallons of the sustainable fuel in Minnesota yearly.

A big milestone was hit this week as Delta Air Lines flew its first flight powered by a sustainable fuel made from camelina, the flight took off Wednesday afternoon from MSP at 4 PM and arrived in New York at 7:30 PM.

Camelina is a fast-growing crop that requires very little water, but is high in oil content that has been used for things like a biolubricant, industrial processes, and cosmetics. And now, that oil can be converted into a SAF.

In a press release from the University of Minnesota, they say that Minnesota-based Cargill worked with farmers last fall to grow 2,000 acres of the crop that was harvested this summer to create the fuel for the flight.

Mitch Hunter, the co-director of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota, says, "This unprecedented event shows the huge promise of camelina —and, soon, pennycress—as continuous-living-cover crops that protect our soil and water while also creating real economic opportunities for farmers."