We remain committed to our goal of 10% SAF use by 2030, assures Delta after adverse reports

Delta Air Lines has denied media reports that a target of using 10% SAF in its jet fuel supply by 2030 has been dropped and that its net zero emissions by 2050 goal had been scaled back to an aspiration. A spokesperson for the airline, ranked the largest in the world in terms of operating revenue and the third largest in fleet size, told GreenAir in a statement that Delta remained committed to the SAF goal. She pointed out the carrier had in 2025 used 23.4 million gallons of SAF, compared to 13 million gallons in 2024, an 80% increase. However, she acknowledged SAF faced scale-up challenges that posed a risk to decarbonisation ambitions but Delta continued to be a central player in driving coalitions across the SAF value chain “to make meaningful progress”, including its participation in the Minnesota SAF Hub, of which the airline is an anchor partner.

“Delta continues to see SAF as one of the most important levers for decarbonising flight and is committed to being a key player in supporting its development,” said the spokesperson. “While we have successfully increased use of SAF every year, we recognise that the technology has not advanced as rapidly as the industry or our ambitions require, and this represents potential risk for decarbonisation ambitions across the airline industry.”

Delta has said previously it would need to procure over 400 million gallons of SAF annually by the end of 2030 to support its 10% SAF utilisation goal. More details of its commitment will be shared in the Delta Difference Report due to published in May, said the spokesperson.

In a recent post on LinkedIn, Delta Air Lines CSO Amelia DeLuca said: “Delta’s goal of using 10% SAF by 2030 remains real. Every day, we’re working across our business, industry and the SAF value chain for meaningful impact – and we’re making solid progress.”

The airline was one of many stakeholders that joined the SAF Grand Challenge, a government/industry initiative set up in September 2021 under the Biden administration, with an interim target of the US producing and using 3 billion gallons of SAF by 2030, en route to 25 billion gallons of SAF to satisfy 100% of domestic demand by 2050. An inter-agency progress report for the three-year period to September 2024 showed 30 million gallons of SAF had been produced in the first three-quarters of 2024. If 100% of announced domestic capacity at the time of the report came online as planned, it forecasted production would exceed the 2030 target.

Delta says most challenges associated with limiting SAF supply at scale were outside the control of airlines, for example policy uncertainty, price premiums, high cost of capital and logistical constraints. However, the airline was engaging in state, federal and international SAF policy advocacy to help implement initiatives that accelerate SAF development and affordability, it added.

One such initiative is Delta’s involvement in the Minnesota (MN) SAF Hub, a coalition set up in 2023 to produce and supply SAF to the airline’s two hubs at Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Detroit Metropolitan airports. First shipments of SAF, made from camelina and refined and blended by Montana Renewables, were delivered via pipeline in October 2024. The delivery was made possible by federal and state policies like the Inflation Reduction Act and Minnesota’s SAF credit, said Delta.

“Three years ago, SAF was a bold idea for Minnesota. Today, its becoming a reality,” Peter Frosch, CEO of the GREATER MSP Partnership, the parent organisation of the MN SAF Hub, told GreenAir. “Minnesota’s SAF economy begins this summer when an industrial-scale blending facility near MSP International comes online. Planes fuelled with SAF will be taking off just months from now, which will make this one of the world’s most sustainable airports.

“Our focus is turning to the next phase of the Hub strategy: developing SAF production in Minnesota at both demonstration and full scale. The MN SAF Hub is actively working with more than 20 producers from around the country and the world with a view to building multiple facilities, making SAF from a range of feedstocks. The Hub is working to provide producers with the consistent, sustained support they need to make confident investments in Minnesota.”

Photo: Delta Air Lines

Christopher Surgenor
Editor