Local sustainable aviation fuel industry hopefuls will continue waiting for a signal on how the Albanese government will build supply and demand, after a new consultation paper was unresolved on a key mandate for use over cheaper conventional fuels.
There is currently no commercial-scale production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Australia, but the CSIRO argues that a domestic industry leveraging comparative advantages in agricultural feedstock production and renewable energy resources could be worth $19 billion by 2050.
While mandates on the use of SAF would serve as a demand-signal to incentivise production, the government paper launched Thursday warns it could also increase the cost of the airline sector reaching net-zero by restricting access to cheaper alternatives like carbon offsets.
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