A collaboration between Ampol, GrainCorp and IMF Investors has received an injection of funds from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) into their quests to develop a domestic supply chain of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) in Australia.
Provided through ARENA’s $30 million (USD 18.6 million) SAF funding initiative, that supports short and medium term solutions to emissions reduction for Australia’s aviation industry the initiative builds on ARENA’s 2021 Bioenergy Roadmap, which found sustainable aviation fuels produced from renewable biomass could provide up to 19% of Australia’s aviation fuel requirements by 2030.
The Commonwealth Science and Industry Research Organisation (CSIRO) Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap report also assessed local production of SAF as the most sustainable gateway to production of other fossil fuel replacements, such as renewable diesel, lubricants and lighter hydrocarbons, identifying 4.5 million tonnes of canola could yield 2 million tonnes of lower-carbon liquid fuel, which is equivalent of around 250,000 return flights between Sydney and Melbourne.
Domestic aviation accounts for approximately 2% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and is viewed as a hard to abate sector, with the bulk of emissions from medium to long haul flights.
In late 2024, ARENA announced an investment of $14.1 million shared between Ampol’s Brisbane Renewable Fuels Pre-FEED study and GrainCorp’s SAF Oilseed Crushing Facility Pre-Deployment study projects from its sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) Funding initiative.
GrainCorp has been allocated $6.1 million from the funding pool, toward its $19.8 million study, which is investigating the establishment of an oilseed crushing facility, which may produce a minimum of 330 kt p.a of canola oil as a feedstock input for SAF production and represents approximately 12% of the 6.13 Mt of canola exported from Australia in the last year to 30 September 2024. The funding will occur over two stages, first for pre-FEED engineering and then, subject to review, FEED engineering.
GrainCorp CEO Robert Spurway said the company is advancing plans to scale up its oilseed crush operations, recognising the critical role of feedstocks in a renewable fuels supply chain.
“Our feasibility work focuses on proximity to oilseed sources, fuel refining capacity, customer demand, and export potential for canola meal. In partnership with Ampol and IFM Investors, we’re committed to supporting the establishment of a domestic supply chain for SAF as a vital step towards decarbonising Australia’s aviation sector.”
ARENA’s $8 million investment in Ampol’s $30.2 million study, will aid the investigation into developing a renewable fuels facility of greater than 450 ML p.a for SAF and renewable diesel production at the company’s Lytton refinery. The minimum of 450 ML of SAF is the equivalent to almost 5% of 2019 (pre-COVID) fossil jet fuel consumption.
Ampol Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Matt Halliday said the funding will further Ampol’s investigations into establishing a domestic renewable fuels capability, which could create benefits in energy security, support regional development and stimulate agriculture and manufacturing industries.
“The combination of Ampol’s existing liquid fuels infrastructure and capabilities, the expertise of our MOU partners IFM Investors and GrainCorp along with ongoing government support, has the potential to create a national renewable fuels ecosystem and unlock Australia’s competitive advantage in infrastructure, technical expertise and the availability of raw materials,” Halliday said.
ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller said the projects represent an important step towards developing a pipeline of projects that could support the reduction of aviation sector emissions.
“With Australians being among the most prolific flyers in the world, decarbonising this high emissions industry will be vital for us to achieve our net zero targets given aviation is a persistently challenging industry from an emissions reduction perspective,” Miller said.
“These two projects are an important step towards developing opportunities to cut emissions from Australian skies and ARENA will be working to ensure the lessons from these projects help inform the broader development of a sustainable aviation fuels industry in Australia.”.
Ampol and GrainCorp, along with IFM Investors, recently entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore the establishment of an integrated renewable fuels industry in Australia.
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