RAI ENERGY and Ecopha Biotech have announced an agreement to develop and commercialise a new domestic pathway for producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and other low-carbon fuels from RAI sorghum syrup, a proprietary product derived from RAI Energy’s purpose-grown sorghum.

Under the joint venture, Ecopha Biotech will extend its technology platform to RAI Sorghum Syrup for the first time, applying its biotechnology and conversion capabilities to transform the new feedstock into drop in-compatible SAF and other low-carbon fuel products.

Ecopha’s platform has been developed around the principle of converting diverse food and non-food, non-edible feedstocks into higher-value products, including SAF, PHA bioplastics and other low-carbon products.

The RAI Energy partnership represents a further application of this platform to an Australian agricultural feedstock.

The joint venture will establish a processing facility in Western Australia, with a targeted production capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year once fully operational.

The estimated value of this project is $1 billion, with first production targeted for Q4 2030, subject to final engineering, approvals and financing.

RAI Energy founder and managing director Naresh Gabriel said the partnership was a “significant step for RAI Energy and for Australian fuel security”.

“What makes our sorghum unique is its versatility – the same crop underpins bioethanol, bio-pellets and sustainable aviation fuel feedstock, while also supporting stock feed and soil carbon outcomes for the growers who plant it,” Mr Gabriel said.

“That means one crop, multiple revenue streams, and a genuinely local alternative to imported fuel.”

Ecopha Biotech chief executive officer and co-founder Wilson Ling said the company was currently working with a range of feedstocks to develop low-carbon products.

“Ecopha is building an Australian bioeconomy platform where agriculture meets biotechnology – transforming diverse feedstocks into SAF, PHA and other high-value low-carbon products,” Dr Ling said.

“This partnership extends our patented technology to a new Australian feedstock, demonstrating how Australian innovation can create new value from local resources and unlock new pathways for sustainable avia on fuel.

“Ecopha is exploring integrated agroforestry systems combining pongamia and sorghum.”

Australia currently imports around 90 percent of its liquid transport fuels, leaving the aviation and transport sectors exposed to global supply shocks and price volatility (CSIRO, 2023).

The Federal Government’s Future Made in Australia agenda has named low carbon liquid fuels a national priority, backed by financing mechanisms including the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the National Reconstruction Fund and the Powering the Regions Fund.

Independent modelling underscores the scale of the opportunity: the CSIRO–Boeing Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap estimates Australia could produce nearly 5 billion litres of SAF a year in the near term, rising to as much as 14 billion litres annually by 2050, drawing on feedstocks including sugarcane, canola and oilseeds.

Separately, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s Bioenergy Roadmap found that sustainable aviation fuel produced from renewable biomass could supply up to 19pc of Australia’s aviation fuel requirements by 2030.

Sorghum potential

This joint venture adds RAI Sorghum Syrup to the country’s growing feedstock base and supports the broader ambition shared across government and industry for Australia to become a LCF hub for the Asia-Pacific region.

Founded in 2022 and based in WA, RAI Energy has been pursuing crop-to-energy initiatives spanning bioethanol, bio-pellets, SAF, soil-carbon farming and Australian Carbon Credit Unit projects built around a proprietary, high-yield sorghum crop.

Through a proof-of-concept produced entirely within WA and grown by local farmers and processed through a WA distillery, RAI Energy has demonstrated bioethanol production at 87.5pc alcohol concentration.

RAI Energy is also working with WA and Federal Government bodies, including the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Austrade, to connect landowners, processors and energy users into a genuinely local renewable fuel supply chain.

The joint venture partners will progress front-end engineering design, regulatory approvals and offtake discussions over the coming months, with further updates to be provided as the project reaches key milestones.

Source: RAI, Ecopha