Steaks made without animals, jet fuel made without oil, and fish food created using gases are among the carbon-cutting goals of a $60 million research facility opened to help businesses reach net zero.
The University of Queensland launched its Biosustainability Hub on Monday, with funding from government and industry, and several projects under way with companies including LanzaTech, Rio Tinto and Woodside Energy.
The university’s announcement comes less than a week after a sustainable aviation fuel refinery project was unveiled in Brisbane and follows other investments in the state for the burgeoning biofuel industry.
The University of Queensland’s research hub, at its St Lucia campus in Brisbane, will investigate the use of synthetic biology to cut carbon emissions in manufacturing industries.
Its five areas of focus include the food and beverage sector, gas fermentation, jet fuel made from waste products, biological processes for mining, and designing biological systems with computers.
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology professor Esteban Marcellin, who will lead studies at the hub, said researchers will collaborate closely with industry groups to develop greener alternatives to existing practices.
“We will be using the process of synthetic biology, which develops new materials, fuels, foods, chemicals or medicines from waste using biological processes,” he said.
“By changing production practices from those dependent on fossil fuels to biomanufacturing, we are changing the game for our planet.”
Existing UQ partnerships will be included in the hub’s projects, including research into creating sustainable aviation fuel from greenhouse gases with LanzaTech, and using gas fermentation to create new products, such as food for aquaculture, with Woodside Energy.
The hub will also investigate ways to create meat, milk and other foods in its Food and Beverage Accelerator, and to recover resources and reduce pollution in mining with Rio Tinto.
Woodside Energy technical and energy development solutions vice-president Jason Crusan said the oil and gas company had set a target to reach net zero by 2050, and hoped research would unlock new ways to reduce carbon emissions.
“We believe that biological solutions could be an important part of the solution to help us achieve our emissions reductions,” he said.
UQ’s announcement comes days after Wagner Sustainable Fuels, Boeing and the Queensland government revealed plans to build a renewable fuels refinery in Brisbane in 2026 that could produce 102 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel and 12 million litres of renewable diesel each year.
Other plans to create a local SAF industry include a partnership between Ampol, GrainCorp and IFM Investors for a refinery at Lytton, on Brisbane’s south side, and a facility at BP’s Kwinana Energy Hub in Western Australia.
Analysis by Frontier Economics found an Australian SAF industry could add $2.8 billion to Australia's economy by 2030, rising to $7.6 billion by 2050.
