Viva Energy, Cleanaway partner to advance low-carbon fuels production in Australia

Photo: Viva Energy

Viva Energy announced Oct. 15 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd. in what the companies are saying is “a significant step towards the manufacture of low-carbon liquid fuels and products in Australia.”

The MOU would see large quantities of domestic used cooking oil (UCO) delivered to Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery in Victoria to produce advanced fuels like a renewable diesel blend and products such as a biocircular polymer.

The agreement aims to establish an ongoing supply of UCO from Cleanaway’s Laverton UCO treatment facility, highlighting the potential for local waste to become a valuable resource for communities and the national economy.

Viva Energy has been running a successful pilot program at its Geelong refinery demonstrating coprocessing, which involves UCO being processed in commercial quantities alongside crude oil in the refinery and transformed into high-value products.

The UCO for the trials has been sourced from Cleanaway’s facilities where the oil is purified into a ready-to-use feedstock for the refinery.

By scaling up local supply and using it in the refinery, the loop will be closed between waste generation, resource recovery and reuse.

By transforming UCO into sustainable fuels and materials, Viva Energy and Cleanaway are demonstrating a practical pathway to help customers who are looking to reduce their scope 1 emissions by using products such as renewable diesel, including Cleanaway, which operates more than 4,100 heavy vehicles that provide essential waste-management services to the community.

It also supports local jobs, underpins Australian industry and reduces reliance on imported feedstocks and materials.

Coprocessing can support the Australian government’s desire to promote production and use of low-carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) through the “Future Made in Australia” program and recently released Net Zero Plan and Transport Sector Plan.

The Transport Sector Plan highlighted that LCLFs can play a key role in reducing emissions from the nation’s hard-to-abate sectors, including heavy transport and support the country’s 2035 emissions-reduction targets.

Coprocessing is a proven technology with almost 40 refineries around the world adopting this as a way to produce lower-carbon fuels.

Formal recognition by the Australian government of the emissions savings resulting from the use of lower-carbon fuels made via the coprocessing of waste and biogenic feedstocks is required for customers to be able to report the emission-reduction benefits in their reporting under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme.

Lachlan Pfeiffer, Viva Energy’s chief strategy officer, said the evolution of sustainable-energy solutions in Australia depends on not just technological innovation and company investment, but also on the development of supportive government policies that can stimulate supply and demand of new lower-carbon products.

“Australia has the expertise, technology and local supply chains to adopt an important role in sustainable energy and circular manufacturing,” he said. “Official recognition and support for coprocessing in NGERS and the Guarantee of Origin Scheme would help build the case for investment in local recycling, clean-fuel production and job creation, helping Australia retain and indeed build its sovereign manufacturing capability.”

Frank Lintvelt, Cleanaway’s executive general manager of strategy and M&A, highlighted the opportunities that could be unlocked through this initiative.

“By recognizing coprocessing, we can convert waste into valuable products and build the foundations of a prosperous, low-carbon liquid fuel industry in Australia to decarbonize hard-to-abate transport sectors,” he said. “We look forward to working closely with government to help shape policies that support these shared goals and inspire a new generation of sustainable solutions.”