The Australian Sugar Council (ASMC) recently called on governments to urgently develop a national biofuel feedstock strategy to boost the local biofuel industry and contribute to economic growth.
ASMC CEO Ash Salardini said ASMC has been advocating for this feedstock strategy since early 2024. He emphasised that sugar manufacturers could be at the heart of Australia’s future biofuels industry by producing bioethanol and other biofuel feedstocks. However, some of the current plans run counter to this goal, Salardini noted, ‘The currently proposed alcohol-to-fuel Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) plant will not use any Australian feedstock, but will instead rely on bioethanol imports from places such as Brazil.’
The sugar industry has significant potential for biofuel development. Not only can sugarcane be processed into products such as bioethanol, but its by-product, bagasse, can also be converted into biofuels. The report states that by utilising these resources wisely, Australia’s sugar industry could meet approximately 8%** of the demand in the **domestic aviation fuel market. This fact highlights the need for a local feedstock supply chain.
ASMC has called on the government to establish a steering group of key feedstock suppliers to provide advice on feedstock supply and take steps to build a stable domestic supply chain.Salardini further stated, ‘We expect the Federal Government and the Queensland Government to really drive the implementation of this feedstock strategy, as they too want to see the Australian biofuels industry the economic uplift that the Australian biofuels industry will bring.’
The report also points out that only through a well-developed feedstock strategy and domestic supply chain will it be possible to reduce reliance on imported feedstocks, realise the full potential of Australia’s local resources, and drive the country’s biofuels industry into the long term.
Salardini concluded by emphasising that biofuels are at the heart of the energy transition, and that developing a national biofuels feedstock strategy will help Australia to capture a greater share of the international market in this area, while contributing to the green transformation and sustainable growth of the domestic economy.