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Virgin and Qatar Airways will become “key partners” on a project to create a new SAF production facility in North Queensland.
The factory, located in the Charters Towers Region, aims to convert bioethanol derived from sugarcane grown onsite into aviation fuel.
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Virgin said the facility is expected to produce 96 million litres of SAF each year, which will be supplied to nearby airports, with deliveries expected from early 2029.
The project is being overseen by industry collaboration Renewable Developments Australia. Tony D’Alessandro, its managing director, said it would deliver real, long-term emission reductions while building a new industry in regional Queensland.
“Our Ethanol to Jet SAF facility in the Charters Towers Region will be a fully integrated production site, generating sustainable fuel from bioethanol derived from locally grown sugarcane,” D’Alessandro added.
“Additionally, by repurposing by-products of the SAF production process to generate renewable power onsite, we are setting a new benchmark for sustainability in aviation fuel manufacturing.”
Christian Bennett, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer for Virgin Australia, said the project aligned closely with the priorities in an earlier Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways MoU.
“The commercial aviation sector in Australia – indeed globally – faces an enormous task ahead in working towards a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which we cannot do alone,” he said.
“Working together with industry partners and government to establish a domestic SAF industry in Australia will be essential – not only to achieve these shared emissions goals, but to strengthen Australia’s liquid fuel security by reducing reliance on global supply chains and creating new, secure, jobs for those living in regional Australia.”
Other airlines, including Qantas and Air New Zealand, are making moves towards greater use of SAF, while the federal government invested $10.4 million into two projects in Queensland through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in February.
This included $2.4 million for Viva Energy to demonstrate SAF use and storage at Brisbane Airport, in which the company will recondition a fuel tank at the Pinkenba Terminal for a commercial supply of blended SAF, with the resulting findings to be shared with other Australian airports to ready their infrastructure for domestic SAF.
Separately, Virgin has partnered with Viva to trial SAF in departing flights from Whitsunday Coast Airport.
