The Minnesota Sustainable Aviation Fuel Hub – a local effort to usher in a new era of more eco-friendly air travel – has earned the backing of another industry giant.

At the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Delta Air Lines announced that French airplane maker Airbus plans to join and invest in Minnesota’s Sustainable Aviation (SAF) Hub. The European company joins a growing list of big corporate backers, including Bank of America, Ecolab, and Cargill.

Airbus’s precise level of participation and investment isn’t yet clear, but the company’s name certainly adds weight to the endeavor: Airbus is the largest airplane maker in the world. The company is joining a “a demand consortium with a multi-year commitment to purchase SAF,” according to a statement issued by Delta on Tuesday.

It’s worth noting that widespread adoption of SAF is still in the very early stages. Delta’s statement acknowledged that there’s not yet enough SAF available to fuel the world’s commercial airlines for even a single week. But the Minnesota SAF Hub, led by local economic development group Greater MSP Partnership, aims to position the state as a leader in the effort.

“Airbus brings significant expertise and credibility to this partnership,” said Peter Frosch, president and CEO of the Greater MSP Partnership, in a statement. “Its investment confirms that decarbonizing air travel is a global imperative, and that the MN SAF Hub is leading the world in pioneering and scaling the development of sustainable aviation fuel.”

Unlike traditional fossil fuels, SAF can be made from a variety of organic materials, such as agricultural biomass and used cooking oils. In September, MSP Airport took delivery of its first batch of SAF made, in part, from winter camelina plants grown in Minnesota and North Dakota.

Plans are underway to build a new SAF blending facility in Rosemount, as well as a multibillion-dollar SAF manufacturing facility in Moorhead.

Speaking at the CES show in Vegas, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said that “the promise of the next century of flight, to me, is exhilarating.”

“Just imagine the possibilities: Travel powered by sustainable energy. Advancements in material science that allow us to better adapt to new environments. Airplanes becoming immersive destinations in themselves,” he told attendees.

In a phone interview on Friday, Greater MSP’s Frosch said that Airbus’s involvement “sends a signal around the country and the world about who we are, and about our commitment to tackling hard problems.”

It’s notable, he said, that a European company that previously had little to no interaction with Minnesota’s economy is now getting involved in the hub.

Frosch also noted that the upcoming Rosemount blending facility remains on track to open sometime this year.

Meanwhile, the SAF Hub is continuing to explore other options for creating environmentally friendly jet fuel. Frosch pointed to the potential of wood waste and cuttings from the paper industry in norther Minnesota as a couple additional sources. “One of the reasons that making SAF in Minnesota is so exciting is there are so many different things we can make it from,” he said.