Defence support key to green-fuel future

Defence is being urged to commit to a 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel blend by 2030 to strengthen its independence from foreign fuel supplies.

A jet being refuelled.

Defence is being urged to commit to a 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel blend by 2030 to strengthen its independence from foreign fuel supplies and underpin a domestic industry levering off Australia’s vast and competitive agricultural sector.

The Chief of Air Force’s Symposium in Melbourne on Monday heard Defence was determined to protect its war-fighting capabilities from “fraught” aviation fuel supply chains.

But Defence is yet to commit to a specific benchmark or timeline to introduce sustainable aviation fuel, which can be used in blends of up to 50 per cent.

In a pre-budget submission to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Alliance of Australia and New Zealand says Defence needs to be an “early cornerstone customer” to provide a “leap forward” for the emerging domestic industry.

“The most effective way to promote a domestic (sustainable aviation fuel) industry, without direct government intervention, is defence fuel procurement,” the submission says.

The alliance says sustainable diesel fuels could also be produced for other ADF users, offering a long-term supply chain for Defence that would also support the government’s climate policy goals.

Air Commodore Mick Durant told the Chief of Air Force’s Symposium Australia’s reliance on overseas production of aviation fuels “is a problem that is well known to Defence and is a particular concern to air power”.

CSIRO Futures director James Deverell said Defence’s ­involvement was crucial in the development of sustainable aviation fuels because it “has more of an ability to absorb some of the green premium” associated with the transition, while commercial aviation could assist in scaling-up the new fuel type.