Boeing invests in Wagner’s Brisbane SAF refinery, construction slated for 2026

American aerospace giant Boeing says it has become an early investor in the sustainable aviation fuels division of the Wagner group, supporting an engineering study for the planned construction of a SAF refinery at Brisbane.

The news follows an MoU between the pair announced in April, citing “Australia’s prime position to develop a domestic SAF industry” identified in a 2023 Boeing/CSIRO SAF Roadmap.

According to an announcement from Boeing on Tuesday, the Brisbane facility will convert ethanol from waste-based feedstocks into SAF, which reduces emissions “up to 84%” versus conventional jet fuel though it represents just 0.1 per cent of jet fuel used globally. It will use LanzaJet’s Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ) process. 

The size of Boeing’s investment in the project was not disclosed. $760,000 in funding support has come from the Queensland government for the feasibility study, with plans for this to lead to construction in 2026. 

The facility has a planned capacity of 102 million litres of SAF and 12 million litres of renewable diesel per year.

“Aviation uses billions of litres of fossil jet fuel per year and accounts for about 2.1% of global CO₂ emissions. In Australia alone, demand for jet fuel is expected to increase by 75 per cent over the next 25 years,” said CEO of Wagner Sustainable Fuels, Matt Doyle in a statement on Monday.

“Australia is in a strong position to produce and scale renewable liquid fuels to meet this challenge and grow a domestic low carbon fuels industry.” 

Wagner Sustainable Fuels has begun design and construction of an SAF plant at the Wagner Corporation-owned Wellcamp Airport in Toowoomba, Queensland, where it will “blend SAF to international aviation regulations.” 

Doyle said the Australian-first facility is anticipated to be supplying “SAF in Australia on a consistent basis” by the end of this year.

“Accelerating local SAF supply enables Australia’s own climate goals and supports the global commercial aviation industry’s commitment of net zero CO₂ emissions by 2050,” added Kimberly Camrass, Boeing’s sustainability lead for ANZ. 

Picture: credit Boeing

Further reading

Boeing and Wagner join to manufacture and utilise sustainable aviation fuels