MN's soon-to-be frozen farm fields hold future clean jet fuel

Pretty soon, Minnesota's farm fields will be in a deep freeze, but some seeds will still be doing their work as farmers try out a winter-hardy crop at the forefront of a production process to create cleaner fuel for commercial jets.

This fall, the University of Minnesota's Forever Green initiative is in the early stages of a study to determine the next steps for Sustainable Aviation Fuel. A key ingredient is winter camelina, a cover crop that not only protects the soil from erosion but has the potential for commercial use.

Mitch Hunter, co-director of the Forever Green Initiative at the University of Minnesota, said right now, they are green rows of little plants that will fully blossom in the spring.

"After the plant flowers, those flowers will turn into fruit packed with seeds, and inside each one of those seeds, you have 35 or so percent oil," Hunter explained.

Minnesota researchers and their partners are leading a charge to convert seed oil into low-carbon jet fuel airlines can use to reduce emissions. Last fall, a test flight using Sustainable Aviation Fuel flew out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Hunter pointed out the latest research aims to lay out a blueprint detailing what is needed to scale up production. Challenges include perfecting crop varieties and finding enough processing capacity.

Eric Kukowski, a fourth-generation farmer in Northern Minnesota, just planted his share of winter camelina across roughly 640 acres. It is his third season of trying out the crop. As with researchers, there is a learning curve for him, including the best time in the fall for putting the seeds in the ground. He said it is an easy crop to manage.

"I don't have to babysit it," Kukowski emphasized. "I can take care of my other crops and make sure they're producing like they're supposed to."

Kukowski noted winter camelina's minimal production needs make it profitable at a time when various commodities are weighed down by trade war effects and other market woes.

Groups like Friends of the Mississippi River back the movement because of the chance to improve water quality with healthier farmland. They insist on only using oilseeds over other biofuel sources, which come with a larger carbon footprint.