This SAF is made from the winter camelina plant that produces an oil rich seed, which can be crushed, refined and used to produce SAF. It has one of the lower carbon intensity scores of the many feedstocks being used for SAF production today. Also, it is one of the many feedstocks found in Minnesota that can be used to produce SAF, including corn, soybeans, canola, continuous living cover crops, agricultural biomass, woody biomass, hydrogen, waste oils, fats and more.
On the heels of an earlier announcement of major milestones from the Minnesota SAF Hub, this latest development is a prime example of why the Minnesota SAF Hub’s focus on the entire SAF value chain is so important. For the winter camelina SAF-fueled flight to come to fruition, many stakeholders and partners were involved.
Cargill worked with Minnesota and North Dakota growers last fall to plant 2,000 acres of winter camelina, which was harvested this summer and used as a feedstock for the SAF.
The camelina was processed at Cargill’s West Fargo crush plant and then sent on to Montana Renewables, where it was refined and blended into SAF.
The camelina SAF was sold to Delta and transported by Shell Aviation directly to the MSP Airport fueling facility where it will enter the fuel supply.
