Melbourne: Australian low-carbon fuels company HAMR Energy has secured AUD 32 million (EUR 19.6 million) in conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to advance the development of a forestry residues-to-sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project spanning Victoria and South Australia, Bioenergy Insight reported.
According to ARENA, the funding is the first allocation under the Australian government’s AUD 250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels priority, which is managed through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. The overall project is valued at AUD 92 million.
The funding will be provided in two phases. HAMR Energy will initially receive AUD 12.5 million, while the remaining AUD 19.5 million will be released after the company secures the co-funding required to begin the detailed front-end engineering design (FEED) phase.
The project includes the development of three integrated facilities. A biomass processing plant in Victoria will process 600,000 tonnes of forestry residues annually, while the Portland Renewable Fuels facility in Portland, Victoria, will produce 300,000 tonnes of renewable methanol per year. The renewable methanol will then be supplied to a methanol-to-jet facility in Gillman, South Australia, which is designed to produce 140 megalitres of sustainable aviation fuel annually.
ARENA Chief Executive Darren Miller said aviation remains one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise, particularly for long-haul flights where alternatives to liquid fuels are limited. He said Australia has a significant opportunity to convert underutilised forestry biomass into low-carbon aviation fuel and other renewable fuel products.
