The $19b case for Australia to produce greener airline fuels onshore
Australia's record at value-adding to commodities is poor. Will we squander a multi-billion dollar opportunity again in the emerging field of sustainable aviation fuels?
It’s Australia’s perennial economic conundrum. Endowed with natural resources, we are prodigious at extracting and exporting raw materials, but less able to produce higher value, finished products because our equipment, labour and manufacturing costs are too high.
This has been the case for coal and iron ore - which we export in vast quantities but then buy back in the form of finished steel; and is happening again with lithium and other critical minerals used in the EV battery industry.
But there are growing hopes Australia has an opportunity to avoid making this mistake again in another growth area that will be critical in the energy transition: sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
Proponents believe Australia has an abundance of natural feedstocks including oilseeds, animal fats, used cooking oil, municipal solid waste (MSW) and sugar cane to become a significant player in SAF production onshore.
