A proposed facility that could turn agricultural waste into jet fuel has won a $14 million launch boost from state and federal governments.
Jet Zero Australia announced the record funding on Friday after commitments from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Queensland government for engineering required to build a plant in Townsville.
If feasible, the refinery could produce up to 102 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for commercial planes and 11 million litres of renewable diesel in 2027.
The announcement comes weeks after a major aviation event was told Australian governments needed to take urgent action to avoid missing the opportunity to become a green aviation superpower.
The $600 million Jet Zero facility, developed under the name Project Ulysses, had already received a $30 million investment from companies including Qantas, Airbus and Japanese petrol firm Idemitsu Kosan.
ARENA’s $9 million grant will help fund a front-end engineering and design study for the plant, chief executive Darren Miller said, to determine whether the companies would build the facility.
“With abundant feed stocks and vast renewable energy resources, Australia is well placed to produce the sustainable aviation fuels we need right here at home,” Mr Miller said.
“We’ll be taking an active role in making sure the lessons from Jet Zero Australia’s study are shared with the industry at large, helping build a path to large-scale production in Australia.”
The Queensland government also invested $5 million in the engineering study through its New Industry Development Strategy fund.
The engineering study is expected to be completed in 2025 and Jet Zero Australia chief executive Ed Mason said, if approved, the facility could be operating by 2027.
“Delivering Project Ulysses will help to capture the economic benefits of a domestic SAF industry for Australia,” he said.
“The project will also contribute to domestic energy security by bolstering domestic jet fuel production for civilian and potentially military aircraft in an important city like Townsville.”
Sustainable aviation fuel can be produced from agricultural waste including sugarcane, tallow, canola and cooking oils, with studies showing it can reduce carbon emissions from air travel by 80 per cent.
The green fuel is in high demand worldwide after major airlines committed to using the fuel to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Australia has yet to build a refinery to produce the fuel despite several potential projects flagged for Queensland and Western Australia.
Airbus Australia chief representative Stephen Forshaw - who told the CAPA Airline Leader Summit earlier in September Australia needed to act in the next year to seize its sustainable fuel opportunity - welcomed the investment.
“This is what the industry needs to begin producing SAF in Australia - meaningful government support to help businesses move forward to production,” he said.
Mr Forshaw said he hoped the federal government would also introduce a mandate to ensure local airlines used sustainable aviation fuel produced in Australia.
A study by Frontier Economics found a local sustainable aviation fuel industry could create more than 7400 jobs and add $2.8 billion to Australia’s economy by 2030.
