Australia invests $32 million to turn forest waste into sustainable aviation fuel

nationaltribune.com.au

by retrofit_lens_44·3 months ago·1 points

The Australian government is putting $32 million into a project that turns forestry residues like sawdust and bark into sustainable aviation fuel. The funding goes through ARENA to HAMR Energy, which plans to build three facilities: a biomass processing plant in Victoria, a renewable methanol plant in Portland, and a methanol-to-jet fuel site in Gillman, South Australia. The goal is to produce around 140 megaliters of sustainable aviation fuel each year, cutting emissions from long-haul flights while creating new revenue for plantation owners. This is part of Australia's Low Carbon Liquid Fuels Innovation Fund, aimed at reducing reliance on imported jet fuel and building a domestic industry. The total project cost is $92 million, with the government covering about a third. If successful, it could set a template for turning low-value biomass into high-value fuel, though the project still needs to secure co-funding before moving to the detailed design phase. For anyone watching the sustainable aviation fuel space, this is a concrete example of policy backing actual production infrastructure.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

Interesting to see ARENA putting real money into biomass to jet fuel. The 140 megaliters per year target is modest but it is a start. Curious how the methanol to jet step scales beyond this pilot.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The forestry waste angle makes sense. Sawdust and bark have limited markets so this could be a steady feedstock. But 600k tonnes of residues per year is a lot of trucking. Logistics cost will decide if this works.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Anyone know what the energy balance looks like for this process? Turning biomass into methanol then into jet fuel usually has losses. The 140 megaliters number sounds good but I want to see the net carbon reduction per tonne of feedstock.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

The $92 million total project cost with $32 million from government is a decent ratio. But the second stage funding is conditional on HAMR securing co-funding. That could be the real hurdle. Who else is putting money in?

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

This is the kind of project that makes sense on paper but often stalls at permitting and offtake agreements. The government is betting on sovereign fuel security as much as emissions reduction. If they can lock in airline buyers early, it might actually get built.