Licella welcomes $1.1 billion Federal Government investment to power cleaner Australian fuel production
Licella today welcomed the Albanese Government’s $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program, designed to boost domestic production of low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF), including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel for shipping and heavy transport. The announcement recognises the critical role of LCLF in decarbonising transport and industry, while also creating new jobs, regional opportunities […]
Licella today welcomed the Albanese Government’s $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program, designed to boost domestic production of low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF), including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel for shipping and heavy transport.
The announcement recognises the critical role of LCLF in decarbonising transport and industry, while also creating new jobs, regional opportunities and a pathway to build a multi-billion-dollar domestic industry.
Australian technology driving LCLF production
Licella is uniquely positioned to support this ambition, with its Australian-developed Cat-HTR™ technology, which converts abundant agricultural residues into low carbon liquid fuels, including SAF and marine biofuel.
Licella CEO, Dr Len Humphreys, welcomed the Government’s announcement as a pivotal moment in scaling sustainable fuel production in Australia:
“This $1.1 billion investment recognises that low carbon liquid fuels are essential to achieving net zero and positions Australia to build a thriving new industry. Project Swift demonstrates how government, industry, and innovators can work together to deliver results.
With our Australian-developed technology, Licella is uniquely positioned to access Australia’s vast agricultural residues and convert them into sustainable fuels with industry-leading low carbon intensity credentials. Our technology is efficient, highly scalable, and combines low-cost production with access to abundant, low-carbon feedstocks. This gives Australia a genuine competitive advantage in producing the next generation of sustainable fuels.”
The Cleaner Fuels Program builds on earlier Federal Government support for SAF and low carbon fuels through the Future Made in Australia Innovation Fund and the ARENA’s SAF Funding Initiative.
With the right policy settings, Australia can transition from reliance on imported liquid fuels to a thriving domestic low carbon fuel industry, capturing greater economic and climate benefits for regional communities.
In Queensland, Licella is progressing Project Swift – a proposed biorefinery in the Bundaberg region focused on the SAF and renewable diesel markets. The project is supported by $8 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program, and delivered alongside strategic partners including Shell and Technip Energies.
Once complete, Project Swift would transform ~150,000 tonnes of agricultural residues, including sugarcane bagasse, into ~60 million litres of low carbon fuels annually, of which ~40 million litres could be SAF. Project Swift has the potential to deliver ~300 construction jobs and 100 ongoing operational jobs, strengthening regional economies and supporting Australia’s energy transition, alongside diversification of Queensland’s sugar sector.
