HAMR Energy announces plans for Australia’s first major methanol to jet fuel facility
HAMR Energy reveals SA and Victoria shortlist for 800 million green fuel facility | 28th July 2025
Some big news from the HAMR Energy team.
We've unveiled plans for our pioneering methanol to jet (MtJ) sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) facility, short-listing potential locations in South Australia and Victoria. This is the first proposed MtJ facility in Asia-Pacific outside of China, positioning Australia at the forefront of next-generation aviation decarbonisation.
Project highlights include:
First of a kind project in the region
Production for 125 million litres of SAF annually
Creates over 50 full time jobs and hundreds more during construction
Detailed feasibility study completed
A major step forward in decarbonising the engines of the sky
It's great to be featured today in the Adelaide Advertiser and Herald Sun today. Check out the full media release below:
Leading low carbon liquid fuels (LCLF) company HAMR Energy today announced plans to develop a $700-800 million sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production facility, which will decarbonise air travel and create hundreds of jobs, after completing a successful feasibility study.
The plans are a key part of HAMR Energy’s strategy to capitalise on incoming international regulations allowing methanol as a feedstock for producing SAF.
Using methanol is a major breakthrough for the aviation industry, unlocking production scale as demand for LCLF soars. Methanol can be produced from a wide range of sustainable sources, offering a versatile, scalable, drop-in fuel to decarbonise 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 tonnes by 2030.
HAMR Energy’s proposed SAF production facility will convert 300,000 tonnes of low carbon methanol, made from forestry residues and hydrogen at its Portland Renewable Fuels project, into approximately 125 million litres of SAF, enough to decarbonise around 3.5 million economy-class passenger trips between Sydney and Melbourne each year.
Creating hundreds of construction jobs and dozens of long-term operational roles, the proposed SAF production facility will 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, give the company lowest cost of production, an attractive proposition for users such as airlines racing to secure LCLF.
David Stribley, Co-founder of HAMR Energy, said: “With the right policy settings, Australia has the opportunity to build a world-class LCLF industry, creating regional jobs, strengthening fuel security, and leveraging abundant renewable energy and biomass resources. This methanol to jet feasibility study demonstrates our ability to deliver competitive, bankable, projects to help hard to abate industries like aviation decarbonise, whilst attracting significant investment and improving national fuel security.”
Today’s announcement follows strong momentum for HAMR Energy, which is finalising its $10 million Series A funding round, with significant interest from strategic partners and private investors.
“With the right policy settings, Australia has the opportunity to build a world-class LCLF industry, creating regional jobs, strengthening fuel security, and leveraging abundant renewable energy and biomass resources. This methanol to jet feasibility study demonstrates our ability to deliver competitive, bankable, projects to help hard to abate industries like aviation decarbonise, whilst attracting significant investment and improving national fuel security.”