Australia exports billions of dollars worth of canola seed to make sustainable jet fuel that is sold back to us. This is what it will take to make it here.

[An] alternative source of jet fuel proposed by government and industry is “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF), a type of biofuel that can be made from oilseeds such as canola, as well as sugar cane, agricultural and forestry “residues” such as barley stalks, and even used cooking oil and municipal organic waste…

SAF is used in low levels by airlines as part of their fuel mix, but it is not made in Australia.

Australia exports huge volumes of tallow and agricultural feedstocks such as canola to refineries overseas, and then imports the refined SAF.

While six refineries make biodiesel and ethanol, none are dedicated to SAF.

“The fact that we basically grow canola here, then we ship it overseas, turn it into sustainable aviation fuel and then buy it back, is nuts,” Infrastructure Minister Catherine King [has said].

“The technology is there,” Stephen Forshaw, who represents Airbus in Australia, said. “We have the ability to do this.”

So, how much homegrown jet fuel could Australia actually produce, what would it cost, and how long would it take to produce it at a scale that would be viable?

  • Hanrahan@slrpnk.netEnglish
    2·
    21 days ago

    no, you’d need millions of hectares of arable land.

    so you either take the land we use now away from agriculture OR you chop down even more forest

    fast rail (doesn’t even have to be very fast rail) would solve the intercity need eg Sydney - Melbourne is one of the busiest flight routes on the planet.

    Knowing Australia, we’ll go with whatever makes it worse long term.