Australia is increasingly reliant on short and long-haul aviation, and currently does not have domestic SAF production. This was one of the driving factors for Jet Zero Australia CEO Ed Mason’s vision to establish a SAF production facility in Australia.
The SAF and biofuels opportunity for Australia proves there doesn’t need to be a trade-off between emissions reduction, regional job creation and energy security. Like in agriculture, Australia has a unique opportunity in biofuels – to sustain not only our own needs but those of the region and trading partners in the Asia-Pacific.
The real “game changer” in Australian investment came in March 2023 with Qantas and Airbus jointly investing $2 million into a feasibility study of a biofuel production plant in the state’s north that will use ethanol from agricultural by-products to turn it into SAF.
Crucially, this marked the first major investment for both corporate juggernauts into SAF production globally. The Queensland Government has also committed $760,000 to the feasibility study.To date, both Qantas and Airbus have committed to invest as much as $300 million to accelerate the establishment of the SAF industry in Australia.
Read more here: https://www.energymagazine.com.au/all-aboard-australias-developing-saf-industry/