Industry stakeholders are calling on the Australian and New Zealand governments to provide guarantees and financial assistance this year to kick-start a local aviation biofuel industry that could be exported to the larger Australasian region.
Launching a new report into alternative fuels, The Flight Path to Sustainable Aviation, Qantas head of risk and resilience John Valastro said: "The government has said that it will back sectors that have the potential to create green jobs that help move Australia to a low-carbon economy. The report we're launching clearly shows that aviation, through the use and development of sustainable aviation fuel, has the potential to be one of those sectors."
Qantas, with Air New Zealand, Boeing and Virgin Australia - regional members of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group - helped commission and develop the report that provides a roadmap to how the region can achieve an economically and environmentally beneficial biofuel industry.
The report said that without government assistance, financial in particular, supply chains will face "technological and market uncertainties and competition from other users of biomass resources" that will not deliver the "price signals and support for initial value chain investment and expansion" necessary for airlines to purchase biofuels.
Qantas has already formed two small-scale pacts to purchase biofuel from US renewable energy companies Solazyme and Solena. However, Virgin Australia has said that it will announce its own partnership within a few months and airline representatives have said they are unlikely to be heavily involved in a local biofuel industry not supported by the government.
"None of us can solve this problem alone. Developing sustainable aviation fuel involves significant investment and research development. The solution will only be found through industry-wide initiatives and government support," said Virgin Australia corporate advisory executive Merren McArthur.
In addition to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group, the Defense Science and Technology Organisation, the Climate Group, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation also commissioned and developed the study and report.
Source: Flight International
