August 01, 2024 [SAF Investor]- Fund manager IFM Investors, agribusiness and processing company GrainCorp and Australian energy firm Ampol announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to explore SAF production in Australia.

In the first phase, Ampol and IFM will conduct feasibility assessment of a renewable fuels facility at Ampol’s Lytton Refinery in Brisbane and work with GrainCorp to explore the supply of homegrown feedstocks, including canola oil.

“IFM’s long term investment approach is key to this emerging industry – we bring the scale, skill and dependability needed to support our iconic Australian partners, GrainCorp and Ampol, to kickstart a new industry that will create new jobs and economic opportunity,” said Danny Elia, global head of asset management at IFM Investors.

Prior to signing the MoU, each of three parties have conducted their own feasibilities to develop feedstock supply and production capacity of renewable fuels, including SAF and renewable diesel (RD) in Australia.

“GrainCorp is already a key supplier of high-quality feedstocks across Australia and New Zealand, including canola oil, tallow and used cooking oil,” said Robert Spurway, managing director and CEO, GrainCorp. “Australian growers produce millions of tonnes of feedstocks every year, the surplus of which is currently exported for refining into renewable fuels.”

The joint statement said that Australia has an advantage in producing and supplying feedstocks to help develop a large and globally competitive renewable fuels industry.

“Australia has a compelling competitive advantage in infrastructure, technical expertise and the availability of raw materials necessary to develop a renewable fuels capability,” said Matt Haliday, CEO, Ampol.

“A combination of Ampol’s existing infrastructure and capabilities, such as the Lytton site and Ampol’s broader distribution network with established channels to market and strong customer relationships, can play a pivotal role in creating a national renewable fuels ecosystem.”

In November last year, GrainCorp signed an MoU with the IFM Investors to explore the possibility of producing SAF in Australia.

The two firms agreed to do a feasibility study for a facility capable of producing 720,000 metric tonnes of renewable fuels annually.

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