Minnesota’s Soon to be Frozen Farm Fields Hold Future of Clean Jet Fuel

(Adobe Stock via Minnesota News Connection)

(By Mike Moen. Minnesota News Connection) – 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-hearty crop are 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 which 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 which 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.