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Qantas and Airbus have announced a major investment in a low-carbon and sustainable aviation fuel project in Victoria.
The investment in low-carbon fuel company HAMR Energy’s Portland Renewable Fuels (PRF) project points to the major aviation companies’ commitment to working towards sustainable aviation practices.
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“Building sustainable aviation fuel supply in Australia is essential to meeting our decarbonisation targets and reducing aviation’s emissions,” said chief sustainability officer at Qantas Group, Fiona Messent.
With SAF demand expected to reach over 500 million tonnes by 2050 and deliver over $13 billion (AUD) in gross value, 70,000 jobs are expected to be created and sustained, according to a study commissioned by Qantas and Airbus.
“But the benefits extend well beyond our industry – a domestic SAF sector means jobs, regional investment, and economic growth across Australia,” Messent added.
The PRF project seeks to use residue from plantation forestry to produce over 300,000 tonnes of low-carbon methanol that can be converted into sustainable aviation fuel.
The company is also developing Australia’s first methanol-to-fuel facility, which will seek to produce over 130 million litres of SAF annually.
“Airbus sees HAMR Energy’s innovative approach to producing SAF from methanol as a very interesting technology pathway, which can help accelerate the industry’s transition to sustainable fuels,” said Stephen Forshaw, Airbus’ chief representative for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
“Developing low-carbon fuel production in more of Australia’s states has the potential to create broad access for offtakers across the country – so important when we consider the reach of our industry.”
Along with Qantas and Airbus, a range of other companies, including Honeywell, OneFortyOne, and ThyssenKrupp, have invested in HAMR’s mission of expanding the integration of SAF into aviation.
“This funding round is a pivotal moment for HAMR Energy and for Australia’s clean energy future,” said co-founder of HAMR Energy, David Stribley.
“With the backing of world-class partners, we are advancing projects to deliver the lowest-cost, lowest-carbon fuels to decarbonise aviation and shipping at scale.”
Funding from Qantas and Airbus was sourced from the Australian Sustainable Aviation Fuel investment fund.
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