Toowoomba company Wagner Sustainable Fuels reveals plans for new Wellcamp blending facility, fuel refinery in Brisbane

One of Toowoomba’s most powerful families has revealed plans for a new refinery that will produce more than 100 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel every year once completed.

A Toowoomba company wants to build a new refinery that could manufacture more than 100 million litres of renewable and sustainable fuel every year for the aviation industry, in a plan that already has government backing.

Wagner Sustainable Fuels, a new entity formed by Toowoomba’s powerful Wagner family, is partnering with American firms LanzaTech Global and LanzaJet to develop a facility that would turn waste-based feedstocks into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The refinery is based on LanzaTech’s technology CirculAir, which converts feedstocks like industrial waste into renewable power.

Project leaders, who have named Boeing as an investor and are currently seeking further equity partners, say the Brisbane-based facility would support more than 1000 jobs during construction and 100 jobs during operation.

Once open in 2029, the refinery will produce 102 million litres of SAF and 12 million litres of renewable diesel every year.

The Queensland government this week confirmed a $760,000 grant to help fund the feasibility study for the refinery.

The two-stage proposal also includes a new Australia-first blending demonstration facility near Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport (owned by Wagner Corporation), which will mix SAF with fossil fuel to create up to three million litres of fuel every year once opened in 2025.

Speaking at the launch of Wagner Sustainable Fuels' plans for a new fuel refinery are (from left) Wagner Corporation director Denis Wagner, Wagner Sustainable Fuels chief executive Matt Doyle and Wagner Corporation chair John Wagner.

WSF chief executive Matt Doyle said all planes leaving Wellcamp would use blended SAF on flights.

“SAF will be available for customers at Wellcamp, including the Australian Defence Force, because we can supply military-grade blended SAF,” he said.

“Once it’s blended and certified, it’s chemically exactly the same — it’s jet fuel and it will be imported into the fuel pump.

“The (SAF) is costly (to import) and we don’t have subsidies in Australia so we have to make use of as many efficiencies as we can (but) with the growth in policy we can up the amount.”

Mr Doyle said the blending project and the refinery were vital to boosting the viability of the burgeoning sustainable aviation fuel industry.

Industry body Bioenergy Australia estimates biofuels like SAF could inject $3bn into the national economy by 2030.

“The blending facility is going to be a beacon to showcase SAF, so we can demystify it to Australians and politicians,” Mr Doyle said.

Speaking at the launch of Wagner Sustainable Fuels' plans for a new fuel refinery are (from left) Qantas climate strategy senior manager Harry Jobberns, LanzaJet project development director Flyn van Ewijk, Wagner Corporation chair John Wagner, Boeing chief sustainability officer Brian Moran and LanzaTech co-founder Sean Simpson.

“SAF has taken off in regions like the US and Europe due to the proactive support of government. It needs government support to advance further.

“We’ve seen some encouraging signs from the Australian government through actions of the Department of Transport, they’re seeing the positive effects of SAF.

“Australia is in a strong position to produce and scale renewable liquid fuels to meet this challenge and grow a domestic low-carbon fuels industry.”

State development minister Grace Grace said she believed the refinery would deliver significant economic benefits to Queensland.

“Growing our SAF industry will not only contribute to decarbonisation targets, but it will also create more good jobs,’’ she said.

“We are well on the way to establishing Queensland as a true green jet fuel hub for the Asia-Pacific region.”