In Australia, Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways said they have agreed to work together with Renewable Developments Australia (RDA) to become key partners on a project that will set out to deliver a homegrown SAF production facility in the Charters Towers Region of North Queensland. The project aims to establish a fully-integrated Ethanol to Jet (EtJ) facility that converts bioethanol derived from sugarcane grown onsite into 100% SAF, using proprietary PureSAFSM technology supplied from KBR, while also generating all of the project’s energy requirements from renewable sources. The facility is expected to produce up to 96 million liters of SAF annually which will be supplied to nearby airports. Early modeling indicates a potential lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 70% compared to conventional jet fuel, said Virgin Australia. The project, currently in pre-final investment decision stage, aims to deliver SAF from early 2029.
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