MINNEAPOLIS — A flight departing from MSP International represented what advocates hope is the future of air travel: planes powered by sustainable aviation fuel.
On Wednesday, Delta Air Lines flight DL 2732 from Minneapolis to New York was powered — at least in part — by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made from a plant known as winter camelina, grown and harvested by farmers from Minnesota and North Dakota.
The flight represents a major milestone for the Minnesota SAF Hub and its contributing partners, including the University of Minnesota, Cargill, Delta and more. GREATER MSP oversees the effort to help airlines decarbonize to meet climate change goals.
Collaborating with the University of Minnesota's Forever Green Initiative , Cargill partnered with Minnesota and North Dakota growers last fall to plant 2,000 acres of winter camelina, which was harvested, processed at Cargill’s West Fargo crush plant and then refined and blended into sustainable jet fuel. The camelina SAF was sold to Delta and transported to MSP, where it was pumped into the jet that carried out Wednesday's historic flight.
"We have to find ways to bring what’s good for the economy together with what’s good for the environment, and this is a great example of that," said Peter Frosch, CEO of GREATER MSP.
To hear more from Frosch's interview with KARE 11's Karla Hult, just click on the video above.