Boeing and CSIRO

Sustainable Aviation Fuel
State of Play

Executive Summary

November 2024

Copyright © Boeing and CSIRO. All rights reserved.

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-Executive Summary-

Since Boeing and CSIRO’s joint release of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap in August 2023, many significant global and domestic developments have occurred -
including shifts in policy, Research and Development (R&D) breakthroughs, investment growth, and increasing industry uptake - further informing options towards
establishing a SAF ecosystem within Australia.
 
- SAF policy continues to progress globally, de-risking investment in SAF and helping the sector to decarbonise
- Federal and state government action is driving policy development in Australia
- Boeing affirming SAF has no technical issues for use in all our military aircraft
- Australia’s finance sector is increasingly engaged in developing innovative approaches to scale SAF
- Industry development is occurring in Australia, with SAF blending on-shore to commence in 2025

-Progress on immediate-term recommendations-

Actions have been taken across Australian policy, industry and R&D in-line with the Roadmap’s immediate term recommendations, however continued targeted effort is required.

 1. Consider policy frameworks and tools (Strong)
- Federal Budget and Aviation White Paper confirm intent to consider SAF-related policies
- QLD Industry Partnership Program, NSW Net Zero Manufacturing.

2. Encourage the signalling of local demand (Moderate)
- Publications highlighting expected demand growth
- Williamtown Air Show Australian Defence Force demonstration
- Aviation White Paper highlights government commitment
- Australian Defence Force commitment to transitioning to low carbon renewable energy.

3. Educate consumers on SAF’s role and benefits (Moderate)
- CSIRO owned work item in Australian Jet Zero Council initiatives
- Extensive media Roadmap reach of up to 17 million
- Aviation White Paper notes social licence and consumer education initiatives.

4. Invest in technology and feedstock R&D (Moderate)
- Access to $1.7 billion Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund
- ARENA Sustainable Aviation Fuel Funding Initiative of up to $30 million.
- Feasibility studies by Ampol, Graincorp, Lanzajet, Wagner and Liquid Power.

5. Scale-up biogenic SAF production (Moderate)
- No active domestic plants to date.
- Projects in planning or construction: LanzaJet and Jet Zero, Townsville; Wagner and Boeing, Toowoomba.
- Projects discontinued: Oceania Biofuels, Gladstone.

-Emerging insights in the Australian ecosystem-

Given changes in the year since the Roadmap’s release, a roundtable consisting of industry, research and government leaders identified evolving priorities in advancing the domestic SAF sector.

Cost and market uncertainty
- Nuancing respected international frameworks for the Australian context will be important to inform policy and production
- Gradual transition pathways can minimise capital requirements
- Market interdependencies need to be considered (e.g. Low Carbon Liquid Fuels)
- Cost of living places further pressure on consumer ability to pay
- Carbon accounting and monetisation plays to national strengths
- Government offtakes will strengthen resilience to disruptions
- Short-term offtake agreements increase risk for private financing.

Feedstock availability and competition
- Matching feedstocks with technologies requires an improved understanding of suitability across pathways
- Cross-industry feedstock competition is likely to grow
- Narrowed options can inform targeted future analyses
- Working with agriculture will be important in driving value
- Better alignment around power-to-liquid planning is needed.

Technological gaps and infrastructure needs
- Leveraging existing infrastructure will minimise unneeded spend
- Building cross sectoral relationships between energy and agriculture will enable better feedstock integration
- Recognising benefits beyond biofuels can help spur investment.

Sustainability and social perceptions
- Evidence based information will help to inform social concerns
- Promoting Australia’s credentials can encourage overseas uptake
- Long term sustainability planning into use and management
- Early Indigenous and community engagement will maximise benefit for indigenous communities and SAF organisations
- Feedstock legitimacy may be questioned by customers.


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