Australian biofuels project another step closer

Australian research company Agritechnology has found a location as it further develops a biofuels demonstration plant.

A site for the plant has been chosen in Orange, New South Wales and it will aim to convert sweet sorghum, native grasses and sugarcane into high quality biofuel.

‘We are a long way off but ultimately we'd like to provide an opportunity for farmers to have a market for feedstocks that can be used in this production,’ Agritechnology business manager Derek Robinson was quoted as saying.

Robinson says a lot more feedstock ‘needs to be grown’ for projects of this nature to reach full commercialisation, with many companies having one eye on supplying the US Navy with biofuels in the future.

‘It's not just the US Navy, it is also the Australian Navy and other countries that have inter-operability with the US - that's a big pie,’ he adds.