Australian clean technology firm HAMR Energy has received up to A$32 million in conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to develop an integrated low-carbon fuels project. The project spans Victoria and South Australia and includes a biomass processing facility, a renewable methanol plant, and a methanol-to-jet fuel refinery. HAMR plans to process 600,000 tonnes of forestry residues annually and produce 300,000 tonnes of low-carbon methanol per year, which will be converted into 140 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other low-carbon fuels. First production of renewable methanol is targeted for 2031. HAMR estimates the SAF output could avoid around 390,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions annually, with an 85% emissions reduction compared to fossil fuels. The funding is the first investment under the Australian Government's A$250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels initiative. It covers early front-end engineering design (FEED) and detailed design work, with a total project cost of A$92 million. This project shows how forestry waste, renewable energy, and hydrogen can be combined to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like aviation.
