Australian carrier Qantas and Airbus will invest in a biofuel production facility designed to turn agricultural by-products including sugarcane into sustainable aviation fuel, the carrier announced last week.
Qantas and Airbus jointly will invest A$2 million (US$1.35 million) into “a detailed feasibility study and early-stage project development” into the production facility, which is being developed by SAF production company Jet Zero Australia and SAF technology firm LanzaJet. The government of the Australian state of Queensland, where the facility would be located, is contributing A$760,000, according to Qantas.
Qantas indicated it expects construction on the facility to begin next year. When operational, it annually could produce up to 100 million liters of SAF, according to the carrier.
The move is the first project of a partnership, announced in June 2022, by Qantas and Airbus to invest up to US$200 million to accelerate the establishment of a SAF industry in Australia.
“Qantas will be the largest single customer for Australian-made SAF to meet our emissions reduction targets, which is why we’re investing in the ideas and technology that will build a local SAF industry,” Qantas Group chief sustainability officer Andrew Parker said in a statement.
