The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its latest report, warning rapid and deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are needed by 2025. 

The report highlights renewable diesel as a having the potential to offer important near-term emissions reductions as it can be used as a drop-in replacement for fossil diesel, requiring no modifications to existing equipment.  

The IPCC report notes that renewable diesel can help reduce emissions across existing diesel vehicle fleets, trains, shipping, long haul trucks and aviation.  

It also highlights Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and its potential to offer significant climate mitigation opportunities, however this still requires the right policy settings to succeed.  

While the potential to scale up bio-based SAF volumes is severely restricted by the lack of low cost and sustainable feedstock options, lignocellulosic feedstocks, made from plant matter, are considered to have great potential for the production of financially competitive bio-based SAF, according to the IPCC.  

With the right level of capital investment in production infrastructure, and substantial policy support, SAF and renewable diesel could play a significant role in helping mitigate the impacts of climate change.  

These benefits are why Carnarvon is already well advanced in its plans to develop Australia’s first commercial-scale renewable diesel production facility. 

FutureEnergy Australia (FEA), a 50:50 joint venture between Carnarvon and Frontier Impact Group, is planning to build a facility near Narrogin, in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, that will have the initial capacity to produce up to 18 million litres of renewable diesel per annum.  

The modular design of the facility means that production can be quickly increased, or similar facilities can be rapidly built close to other demand centres.  

The renewable diesel at these facilities also has the potential to be further refined into sustainable aviation fuel, while the high-temperature pyrolysis process also produces high-quality biochar and wood vinegar.