Insight Focus
Airbus has pledged to join and invest in Minnesota’s SAF Hub. The coalition includes major partners and aims to accelerate commercial production of SAF. With plans for new facilities and strong state support, the Minnesota SAF Hub is positioning the state as a leader in sustainable aviation fuel development.
Airbus Pledges Support for SAF Development Hub
French airplane maker Airbus recently announced that it plans to join and invest in Minnesota’s Sustainable Aviation Hub, a first-of-its-kind coalition launched to scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) with the urgency commercial aviation needs to reach net zero by 2050.
Through the GREATER MSP Partnership, Airbus will join Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Ecolab, Cargill and Xcel Energy in an unparalleled collaboration among key players across the value chain committed to scaling SAF production to replace conventional jet fuel. These anchor members are joined by other leading institutions, including the State of Minnesota, to implement an ambitious shared strategy for aggressively decarbonizing the airline industry.
Airbus’s precise level of participation and investment isn’t yet clear, but the company’s name certainly adds weight to the endeavour: Airbus is the largest airplane maker in the world. The company is joining a “demand consortium with a multi-year commitment to purchase SAF,” according to a recent statement issued by Delta.
Delta’s statement acknowledged that there is not yet enough SAF available to fuel the world’s commercial airlines for even a single week. But the Minnesota SAF Hub aims to position the state as a leader in the effort.
Source: DOE
“Airbus brings significant expertise and credibility to this partnership,” said Peter Frosch, president and CEO of the development group Greater MSP Partnership. “Its investment confirms that decarbonizing air travel is a global imperative, and that the Minnesota SAF Hub is leading the world in pioneering and scaling the development of sustainable aviation fuel.”
SAF Production Expansion and Development in Minnesota
Plans are underway to build a new SAF blending facility at a Koch refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, as well as a multibillion-dollar SAF manufacturing facility in Moorhead. The Rosemount blending facility is on track to open later in 2025.
The Minnesota SAF Hub coalition is deploying a multi-phased approach to scaling production that begins with promoting the flow of SAF into the state and supporting a robust and flexible SAF production infrastructure. The coalition is balancing pragmatism and ambition by using existing technologies to make progress as quickly as possible, while accelerating the technologies with the greatest carbon reduction potential.
The coalition said it will leverage a flexible and data-driven approach as SAF technology and research matures. Power-to-liquid, for example, is a pathway that generates SAF from clean hydrogen and carbon that may allow greater emissions reductions and fewer constraints on supply.
The Minnesota SAF Hub will accelerate commercial scaling of SAF. Strong policy support is complemented by a rich agriculture landscape, economical renewable energy sources, research and development capabilities, existing aviation fuel infrastructures and strong demand for jet fuel.
At the MSP airport, Delta, alone, uses around 250 million gallons annually to power its operations – one of its largest global hubs. Through the combined efforts of the coalition and corporate partners, Delta aspires to use SAF for more than 10% of its fuel at MSP by 2027, with sights set on 50% by 2035.
Leaders Focused on Coalition’s Critical Mission
“Our SAF Hub will accelerate progress toward decarbonizing the airline industry nationally while also creating thousands of good jobs across Minnesota,” said Peter Frosch. “It is good news that some of the world’s most innovative companies are combining forces to build SAF production at the scale the market demands and at a pace the climate requires. Together, we are recruiting the next set of partners to join this effort to build an integrated SAF value chain in the centre of North America’s economy.”
“The Minnesota SAF Hub is the game changer aviation needs to start producing SAF at the volumes required to meet our aggressive goals,” said Delta CEO, Ed Bastian. “This coalition of heavy hitters from across the SAF ecosystem are collaborating to rapidly scale production, demonstrating the power of partnerships to meet our shared goal faster than any of us could do on our own.”
Source: ING
“We know from experience that the path to building a sustainable future requires collective action,” said Ecolab chairman and CEO, Christophe Beck. “It was important for Ecolab to join other industry leaders on day one of the Minnesota SAF Hub, as our process innovation and technology expertise can help the coalition scale to meet the challenge and opportunity of sustainable aviation.”
“SAF is a next-generation technology that will help us advance our vision of providing net-zero energy to our customers by 2050,” said chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy, Bob Frenzel. “We’re excited to support carbon reductions in the transportation sector by supplying carbon-free electricity and clean fuels like hydrogen and renewable natural gas, spurring commercial-scale SAF production in our headquarters in the state of Minnesota.” He added that this coalition also allows Xcel Energy to explore other end uses for SAF, including as a clean fuel for power generation and home heating.
