Delta opens SAF blending facility at Minnesota refinery hub

Delta Air Lines marked the completion of a sustainable aviation fuel blending facility at Flint Hills Resources' Pine Bend Refinery on July 27, enabling direct pipeline delivery of SAF to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, as the carrier works to scale lower-carbon fuel use at its second-largest hub.

The facility will blend up to 30 million gallons of neat SAF annually with conventional jet fuel at the refinery before moving product through existing pipeline infrastructure to MSP, where Delta consumes roughly 250 million gallons of jet fuel each year. The project addresses a key bottleneck in SAF adoption by creating dedicated blending and distribution infrastructure at scale, rather than relying on smaller, ad-hoc deliveries.

Delta said the facility represents one of four milestones identified by the Minnesota SAF Hub, a coalition the airline launched in 2023 alongside Greater MSP Partnership, Bank of America, Ecolab and Xcel Energy to build regional SAF supply chains.

"This facility is the culmination of a shared vision for Minnesota to become a leader in sustainable aviation fuel," Peter Carter, president of Delta Air Lines, said. "By expanding the infrastructure needed to support broader SAF adoption, it represents an important step toward turning that potential into reality."

The opening drew Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, US Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Brad Finstad, and executives from Flint Hills, Ecolab and Greater MSP, underscoring political and corporate alignment behind SAF infrastructure development in the state.

Scaling supply chains

SAF production remains limited relative to aviation fuel demand, making infrastructure investments critical to expanding use across the industry. The Pine Bend facility's pipeline-connected design allows SAF to move through existing fuel distribution systems without requiring new transportation infrastructure, reducing logistical complexity and costs.

The project builds on Delta's broader SAF strategy, including a five-year agreement with Shell Aviation to expand SAF availability across key US hubs through 2030, with MSP among the priority airports. That partnership will support both blended and neat SAF deliveries while establishing logistics, blending and distribution capabilities for dependable supply across Delta's network.

Jet fuel accounts for roughly 90% of Delta's carbon emissions. The carrier targets SAF comprising 10% of its fuel use by 2030 and 35% by 2035, subject to third-party investment and facility development, as part of its goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Life cycle carbon emissions from neat SAF can be up to 80% lower than conventional jet fuel, according to Delta statement.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed SAF California at 1,071.53 cents/gallon and SAF (H-S) CA (credits det) at 585.1 cents/gal July 27, based on a spread of neat SAF to Jet Kero LA CA pipeline of 197.5 cents/gal.