Black & Veatch to Advance Carbon-Neutral Aviation in Australia, New Zealand

(Black & Veatch) The company joins Bioenergy Australia’s alliance as a $30 million fund is announced for sustainable aviation fuel development -- Black & Veatch, a global leader in critical infrastructure solutions, has joined Bioenergy Australia’s (BA) Sustainable Aviation Fuel Alliance of Australia and New Zealand (SAFAANZ).

BA is a national industry association, with over 150 members, committed to accelerating Australia’s bio-economy. BA founded the SAFAANZ to create a collaborative environment to advance SAF production, policy, education and marketing in Australia and New Zealand.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is produced by processing renewable sources such as waste cooking oil, plant oils and agricultural residues for use in commercial airplanes. The fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional jet fuel.

“Electrification is essential for many pillars of the energy system. Yet, it is only part of the solution to reducing emissions. Australia’s heavy industries, aviation, marine, agriculture and mining need affordable and immediate decarbonisation options, such as renewable fuel. We are excited to work with industry leaders, like Black & Veatch, to identify pathways to produce the fuel affordably and at scale,’’ Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie said.

“As well as decarbonising the aviation sector, sustainable fuels will decarbonise all transportation forms – people and goods. Joining SAFAANZ means Black & Veatch can meaningfully contribute to the advancement of sustainable fuels in Australia and New Zealand, given our extensive global engineering and construction experience across aviation fuel, methanol to gasoline, biogas and renewable natural gas,” said Mick Scrivens, Vice President, Director, Australia Pacific, Black & Veatch.

About 2.5 percent of the world’s total carbon emissions are generated by the global aviation sector. In Australia, the industry accounts for about 1 percent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that SAF could contribute around 65 percent of the reduction in emissions needed by aviation to reach net zero in 2050.

Presently, demand for SAF exceeds its supply. Australia, with abundant residue resources, agriculture and waste, has strong potential to meet both domestic and global SAF supply needs.

To realize its potential, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) set aside $30 million (US$20 million) in July to facilitate the development of a SAF industry with production from renewable feedstocks available locally. The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Funding Initiative will assess opportunities across the supply chain from renewable feedstock supply to final fuel production, identifying their requirements to enable and scale a domestic SAF industry.

The wider deployment of SAF will be supported by overcoming barriers, including affordability, competition for feedstocks, sustainability, airport infrastructure and cost-effective scaling of production.

Black & Veatch and DG Fuels LLC – an emerging leader in cellulosic drop-in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) – have signed and begun a binding agreement for Black & Veatch to perform a front-end loading (FEL-3) engineering report for DG Fuels’ launch project to be located in Louisiana, United States. The report involving a possible low-emission fuel manufacturing facility in St. James Parish along the Mississippi River is expected to be completed in eight to nine months, consistent with Washington, D.C.-based DG Fuels’ goal of reaching a final investment decision (FID) on the project in early 2024.

Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2022 were US$4.3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

Bioenergy Australia (BA) is the national industry association, with over 150 members, committed to accelerating Australia’s bio-economy. Our mission is to foster the bioenergy sector to generate jobs, secure investment, maximise the value of local resources, minimise waste and environmental impact, and develop and promote national bioenergy expertise into international markets.

Bioenergy Australia works with the Renewable Gas Alliance (RGA), Sustainable Aviation Fuel Alliance of Australia and New Zealand (SAFAANZ) and the Cleaner Fuels Alliance (CFA). These alliances were founded to accelerate the development and deployment of Renewable Liquid Fuels and Biomethane for deployment in Australia. READ MORE