From waste oil to mining fuel: The company aiming to cut WA’s reliance on imported diesel

Résumé détaillé

An Australian company is looking to bring technology successfully utilised in the United States to Western Australia in a bid to transform waste oil and agricultural residues into hydrotreated vegetable oil - a form of renewable diesel.

The ongoing war in the Middle East has had a dramatic impact on the price of fuel across the nation, with diesel prices specifically climbing to never-before-seen heights, adding significant costs to WA’s mining and agriculture industries.

In April, a major fire at one of Australia’s two remaining oil refineries knocked out at least a fifth of the plant’s production capacity, heightening fears about the nation’s fragile fuel security.

Now an Australian company is looking to bring technology successfully utilised in the United States to Western Australia in a bid to transform waste oil and agricultural residues into hydrotreated vegetable oil - a form of renewable diesel.

New Rise Renewables, a subsidiary of XCF Global, operates a fuel facility in Reno, Nevada, using waste oil, agricultural residues and distillers corn oil to produce both hydrotreated vegetable oil and sustainable aviation fuel.

Australian company Continual Renewable Ventures currently has a joint commercialisation and development agreement with XCF Global that covers not just the technology, but technical, development and project support.

CRV managing director Renzo Petersen said the company is planning to replicate the Reno facility at three separate locations in Australia, turning waste oil, tallow and eventually non-food grade crops into fuel for the mining, agricultural and aviation sectors.

CRV is currently in the process of securing land for three production facilities in Australia, in New South Wales, Queensland and WA, and is actively working with governments in each state to find a place to set up the venture.

Petersen said the company has Kwinana in mind as the ideal location within the state, with key infrastructure already in place and close to major aviation hubs.

“We’ve submitted our applications and believe we will be assessed on that early next year,” he said.

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