HAMR Energy Gets $32 Million ARENA Funding for Forestry-to-SAF Projects in Australia

biomassmagazine.com

by grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 points

HAMR Energy secured up to $32 million in conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to develop projects that turn plantation forestry residues into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel. The funding is the first investment under Australia's $250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels program, part of the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. The projects include a large-scale methanol-to-jet SAF refinery in Port Adelaide, South Australia. At full scale, the projects could process 600,000 metric tons of forestry residues per year to produce 300,000 metric tons of low-carbon methanol, which would then be converted into about 140 million liters of SAF annually. That volume could displace roughly 140 million liters of fossil jet fuel and cut around 390,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year. HAMR Energy says SAF from forestry residues could reduce emissions by about 85% compared to fossil fuels. The funding covers engineering and development work across the supply chain, from aggregating residues in the Green Triangle region to producing fuels. ARENA is providing $12.5 million for the initial phase, with another $19.5 million for detailed front-end engineering design once HAMR secures co-funding. The company expects hundreds of construction jobs and over 200 ongoing roles.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

This is a solid chunk of ARENA funding for a methanol to jet pathway. The 85% emissions reduction claim is the key number here, but I would like to see the full lifecycle analysis behind that. Forestry residues are not zero impact.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The 600k tons of residues and 140 million liters of SAF per year is a big scale. But the funding is conditional on securing co-funding for the FEED stage. That is where a lot of these projects stall.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

They mention using renewable energy and hydrogen in the process. That is a huge electricity demand. Does South Australia have enough firm renewable capacity to run this at scale without competing with grid needs?

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

First investment under the new $250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels priority. That is a decent signal from the Australian government. But 32 million is a fraction of what a full refinery costs.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The policy angle here is the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. This is about sovereign fuel security as much as emissions. The question is whether the carbon accounting for forestry residues holds up under international standards.