Townsville sugarcane jet fuel: 1100 jobs to build and run refinery

Plans for a new Townsville refinery bringing 1100 jobs has the backing of the Premier.

Airbus chief Australia representative Stephen Forshaw, LanzaJet Asia Pacific project development Flyn van Ewijk, Jet Zero Australia chief executive Ed Mason, Michele Bauer from the Queensland Government and Johnathon Curry from Qantas.

Plans for a new Townsville refinery bringing 1100 jobs has the backing of the Premier.

A consortium of Qantas, Airbus, U.S.-based LanzaJet and Jet Zero Australia are the main drivers of a sugar cane jet fuel plant in development in Townsville.

The group has chosen a 20-hectare site at Cleveland Bay, and developers say production of more than 100 million litres of fuel could be running in 2026.

Premier Steven Miles says North Queensland was in prime position to provide the cane by-product.

One-thousand construction and 100 operational jobs would flow from the refinery which would then benefit agriculture, aviation, defence and tourism, the Premier said.

“Queensland’s renewable energy advantage means we can protect and grow regional jobs in high tech sectors like sustainable jet fuel,” he said.

The state government provided $760,000 for a feasibility study. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Final investment decision on the $600m project looms mid-2024, Jet Zero chief executive Ed Mason said.

The refinery aims to produce 102m litres of sustainable aviation fuel per annum, and 11m litres of renewable diesel, for which “we have demand for that volume”, Mr Mason said.

Sugar cane by-product could soon be in high demand.

The state government, Qantas and Airbus have already invested in preliminary stages, leading to a successful feasibility study completed in August.

Three engineering firms were currently working on tender submissions for how to build the refinery, near Sun Metals in Stuart, and maximise the capital expenditure on offer, Mr Mason said.

The exact site cannot be disclosed until further discussion with the state co-ordinator general. And private supply agreements for sugarcane by-product have been signed, Mr Mason said.

Qantas aims for 10 per cent of its fuel to be sustainable aviation fuel by 2030, and 60 per cent by 2050. Picture: Supplied

LanzaJet switched on an alcohol-to-jet fuel plant in the U.S. in January, which provided the blueprint for the Townsville refinery.

Qantas has announced sustainable aviation fuel targets and Dutch-based plane builder Airbus is in on the shift as well.

Airbus chief Australian representative Stephen Forshaw said Australia was the eighth biggest consumer of jet fuel, and there were very few decarbonising options.

However, building sustainable aviation fuel plants in Australia meant a projected 18,000 direct, and 54,000 indirect new regional and remote jobs, he said.

In 2018 Qantas flew Los Angeles to Melbourne with a plane powered by 10 per cent mustard seeds, shaving seven per cent off the usual carbon emissions for the 15 hour flight.

Airbus also wanted the Federal Government to follow European and Japanese leads in enacting a staged sustainable aviation fuel mandate.

Qantas chief sustainability officer Andrew Parker said sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was the most significant tool for airlines to reduce emissions, but it was only available offshore.

“Qantas is investing in technology like this Queensland biofuel refinery to help kickstart a local SAF industry so flights around Australia can be powered to produce lower emissions,” Mr Parker said.

Townsville Enterprise Limited chief executive Claudia Brumme-Smith said the plant had been two years in the making.

Tying the refinery to CopperString, with export potential for the port and more than 1000 jobs was great news for North Queensland, she said.

Originally published as Townsville sugarcane jet fuel: 1100 jobs to build and run refinery