Australian low-carbon fuels company HAMR Energy has been awarded AUD 32 million (EUR 19.6m) in conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to advance development of a forestry residues-to-sustainable aviation fuel project spanning Victoria and South Australia.
The award is the first under the Australian government's AUD 250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels priority, managed by ARENA through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund. The overall project is valued at AUD 92 million.
Funding will be released in two stages: an initial AUD 12.5 million, with the remaining AUD 19.5 million conditional on HAMR Energy securing the co-funding required to commence detailed front-end engineering design (FEED).
The project covers three facilities. A biomass processing facility in Victoria will handle 600,000 tonnes per year of forestry residues; the Portland Renewable Fuels methanol plant in Portland, Victoria, will produce 300,000 tonnes per year of renewable methanol; and a methanol-to-jet facility in Gillman, South Australia, will convert that methanol into 140 megalitres of sustainable aviation fuel annually.
ARENA chief executive Darren Miller said aviation was one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, particularly for long-haul flights where alternatives to liquid fuels remain limited, and that Australia had a significant opportunity to convert underutilised biomass resources into clean fuel products.
HAMR Energy secures AUD 32m funding for biomass-to-SAF project
