On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has opened a $30 million funding initiative to reduce emissions in the aviation sector.
The Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Funding Initiative aims to support the development of a SAF industry with production from renewable feedstocks in Australia. It will examine opportunities across the supply chain from renewable feedstock supply to final fuel production, identifying their requirements to enable and scale a domestic SAF industry.
The open initiative will welcome applications seeking ARENA grant funding between $1 million and $30 million via a two-stage application process.
SAF production
ARENA is seeking proposals for commercial or pre-commercial SAF production with funding provided to support engineering feasibility and project development activities or funding for pilot scale and pre-commercial demonstrations.
ARENA will also seek proposals with novel and scalable approaches across the supply chain. This could include innovation in feedstock supply such as aggregation or business models to enable domestic SAF production.
Proposals will be required to demonstrate that they use or process an eligible renewable feedstock and production pathway. Power to Liquids (PtL) or E-fuels production pathways are not supported under the Funding Initiative.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the funding initiative will help Australia understand how SAF can play a role in decarbonising the aviation industry. “For a country so reliant on aviation for passenger and freight transport, it’s essential that we find ways to reduce emissions from this critical sector,” he added.
“With abundant agriculture, waste and residue resources, Australia has the potential to support a thriving domestic biofuel industry. This is about utilitising our natural advantages to reduce emissions and make the most of the economic opportunities on offer.”
Bioenergy roadmap
The SAF initiative seeks to deliver on the findings of ARENA’s Bioenergy Roadmap which found that sustainable aviation fuels produced from renewable biomass could provide up to 19% of Australia’s aviation fuel requirements by 2030.
Applications for the SAF initiative are open now, with expressions of interest due by 1 November 2023.
