HAMR Energy announces plans for Australia’s 1st major methanol-to-jet fuel production facility

HAMR Energy announced plans July 28 to develop an AUD$700 million to AUD$800 million (USD$455 million to USD$520 million) sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility after successfully completing a feasibility study.  

The plans are a key part of HAMR Energy’s strategy to capitalize on incoming international regulations allowing methanol as a feedstock for producing SAF.  

Using methanol is a major breakthrough for the aviation industry, according to HAMR Energy, unlocking production scale as demand for low-carbon liquid fuel soars.  

Methanol can be produced from a wide range of sustainable sources, offering a versatile, scalable drop-in fuel to decarbonize air travel.  

This will be essential for the aviation sector to meet emissions-reduction targets and help close the estimated global SAF supply shortfall of 10 million metric tons by 2030.  

HAMR Energy’s proposed SAF production facility will convert 300,000 tons of low-carbon methanol made from forestry residues and hydrogen at its Portland Renewable Fuels project into approximately 125 million liters (over 33 million gallons) of SAF—enough to decarbonize around 3.5 million economy-class passenger trips between Sydney and Melbourne each year.  

The proposed SAF production facility is expected to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of investment.  

HAMR Energy’s feasibility study identified refining technology, which provides a commercial, scalable pathway to produce SAF from methanol.  

It went on to assess key project factors, including renewable power costs, market access and construction economics, identifying South Australia and Victoria as ideal locations for the facility.  

The company’s vertically integrated model looks after the whole production process from biomass to fuel.  

This model, supported by feedstock arrangements for finite renewable biomass, gives the company the lowest cost of production—an attractive proposition for users such as airlines racing to secure low-carbon liquid fuels.  

“With the right policy settings, Australia has the opportunity to build a world-class low-carbon liquid fuels industry, creating regional jobs, strengthening fuel security and leveraging abundant renewable energy and biomass resources” said David Stribley, co-founder of HAMR Energy.

“This methanol-to-jet feasibility study demonstrates our ability to delivery competitive, bankable projects to help hard-to-abate industries like aviation decarbonize while attracting significant investment and improving national fuel security,” he added.

The July 28 announcement follows strong momentum for HAMR Energy, which is finalizing its AUD$10 million (USD$6.5 million) Series A funding round with significant interest from strategic partners and private investors.