DG Fuels to build Minnesota SAF manufacturing facility

Greater MSP, the Minneapolis Saint Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership, has announced that DG Fuels, a Washington, DC-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) company, has selected a site for a roughly $5 billion SAF manufacturing facility in Moorhead, Minnesota.

The facility will be part of the Minnesota SAF Hub, the nation’s first large-scale hub committed to scaling production of SAF to replace conventional jet fuel. Led by the Greater MSP Partnership, the Minnesota SAF Hub is a coalition of companies including Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Ecolab and Xcel Energy in partnership with the state of Minnesota, the Metropolitan Airports Commission and the University of Minnesota, among others.

The facility would produce 193 million gallons per year of low-carbon SAF using agricultural and wood waste as feedstock, representing nearly half of the fuel used at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) International Airport.

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The facility would represent the most significant commitment toward commercial-scale SAF production in the state. With its abundant and diverse feedstocks, clean electricity, mature rail networks and strong state support, DG Fuels says Minnesota offers a compelling value proposition to SAF producers.

“This exciting announcement demonstrates how building a new SAF economy in Minnesota will create opportunities that stretch from the tarmac of MSP International Airport to every corner of the state,” says Peter Frosch, president and CEO of the Greater MSP Partnership.

The city of Moorhead, Minnesota, has plans to work with the Minnesota SAF Hub and DG Fuels to address the next set of requirements to advance the project, including aggregating feedstocks.

“Moorhead is a welcoming community—and is growing in population and national influence,” says Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson.  “With the largest shovel-ready industrial site in the state of Minnesota, we are excited and prepared to compete on the national stage for this economic development opportunity.”

Greater MSP says the SAF Hub is actively pursuing opportunities to bring to Minnesota producers of all sizes to join the growing SAF industry, using multiple technology pathways and feedstocks, as the current demand for SAF at MSP Airport outstrips supply.