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An Australian Army CH-47F Chinook was refuelled with sustainable aviation fuel last month in a milestone moment for the ADF.
Defence said the aircraft received 3000lbs of SAF at RAAF Base East Sale in southern Victoria, as part of a joint initiative between the RAAF and Joint Capabilities Group.
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It comes after Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy announced in October that Australia’s military would target achieving net zero emissions by 2050 by transitioning to alternative fuel sources and introducing renewable electricity.
Sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, are made from a variety of renewable feedstocks, including vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste materials. They can currently be blended with traditional fuels to lower carbon emissions.
Certified for Defence use in 2023, the Air Force demonstrated the use of SAF with the RAAF Roulettes conducting a flying display fuelled by a SAF blend at the 2023 Newcastle-Williamtown Airshow.
This year, the Air Force expanded the initiative to a 12-month pilot activity at RAAF Base East Sale, making the base the first airfield in Australia to routinely use a SAF blend.
HQ Aviation Command’s Director of Aviation Capability Management, Colonel Brenton Mellor, said Army’s continuing participation in the initiative ensured its aviators and support personnel understood the strategic significance of SAF and could see how the fuel functioned the same as conventional aviation turbine fuel.
“SAF will be an important element in keeping Army aircraft in the air,” Colonel Mellor said. “Being able to increase our fuel stocks while maintaining our military capability and interoperability with allies increases our resilience, effectiveness and deterrence.
“The stopover by the Chinook at East Sale is an important milestone for the use of SAF across Defence, and Army Aviation looks forward to greater availability of synthetic aviation turbine fuels.”
Defence’s move into sustainability comes as countries and airlines continue to invest in producing more SAF for commercial carriers.
Earlier this month, for example, Qantas and Airbus pledged to invest $15 million in a climate-focused venture capital fund.
Virgin, meanwhile, has partnered with Viva Energy to trial SAF in departing flights from Whitsunday Coast Airport and Air New Zealand last year signed a deal for 9 million litres of SAF that will be blended with conventional jet fuel.
The initiatives followed strong lobbying by former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who in 2022 argued Australia should be beating other nations to produce large quantities of SAF.
“Australians are the most competitive people I’ve ever come across,” Joyce said. “We should be making it into a World Cup. I think we’d win if that were the case.”
Joyce was a long-term advocate of encouraging SAF production in Australia, branding it a “huge opportunity” that would create “a huge amount of jobs”.
“It’s a shame if Qantas meets its 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel target in 2030 by just buying it offshore. That would be terrible outrage in my mind, and it’s a terrible dropping of the ball in Australia.”
