An Australian-United States joint venture has chosen Collie as its preferred site for a new facility that uses unique high-temperature technology to produce renewable diesel fuel from biomass.
Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan and Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray today announced $100,000 in funding from the Collie Futures Small Grants Program (CFSGP) for a feasibility study to assess the viability of the project.
Australian company Frontier Impact Group has teamed up with the US-based REEP Development to expand the use of the pyrolysis technology into the Asia-Pacific region.
If the project gets off the ground, it would create 48 plant jobs, 30 construction jobs and 120 indirect jobs.
The high-temperature pyrolysis technology involves burning biomass or waste to produce syngas, which can then be used to produce 100 per cent renewable diesel fuel.
The US is home to the only large-scale plant of this kind in the world, with the capacity to produce up to 27 million litres of renewable diesel fuel and 10,000 tonnes of biochar each year.
Both the $2 million Collie Futures Small Grants Program and $18 million Collie Futures Industry Development Fund are part of the Collie Futures Fund, aimed at diversifying the region’s economy and creating local jobs.
