Why the GREATER MSP Partnership sees regional collaboration as the key to scaling SAF
Sustainability In The Air
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In this episode, we speak with Julia Silvis, Managing Director of Research and Intelligence at the GREATER MSP Partnership, the economic development partnership for the Minneapolis Saint Paul (MSP) region region that built and leads the Minnesota sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) Hub, a first-of-its-kind coalition working across the entire SAF value chain from feedstock to the airport fuel supply.
She discusses:
- Working supply and demand together: How the Minnesota SAF Hub’s defining feature is that it operates on both sides (supply and demand) of the market, giving it visibility into bottlenecks before any individual producer runs into them.
- How Delta Air Lines brought SAF to an economic development group: The story of Delta approaching GREATER MSP after its 10% SAF by 2030 commitment, and how interest from Xcel Energy, Cargill and Ecolab convinced the organisation there was something worth building.
- Getting the first truckload from camelina to wing: The three-month effort that moved SAF made from local winter camelina to MSP airport, and what it taught the hub about blending capacity, infrastructure and trust.
- Horizons, not just a billion-gallon goal: Why the Hub’s has set a target of 1 billion of SAF by 2050, and why it has been broken into three gradual “horizons”: ongoing uplift at MSP, in-state production by around 2030, and multiple pathways by 2035.
- Defending regional hubs and asking for federal stability: Why Silvis believes building things in the real world is harder at the federal level, how regional hubs customise rather than duplicate, and why policy consistency over 10-15 years matters more to producers than any single credit.
If you LOVED this episode, you’ll also love the conversation we had with Bruce Fleming, CEO of Montana Renewables, who shares how one of the largest SAF producers scaled its operations by leveraging existing infrastructure rather than starting from scratch. Check it out here.
Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry’s challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2’. Click here to learn more.
Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our websiteand join the movement. It’s about time.
Links & More:
Minneapolis Saint Paul Economic Development - Greater MSP
Airbus to Invest in Minnesota Sustainable Aviation Fuel Hub - Twin Cities Business
