Australia Plans Diesel Alternative From Farm Waste

Australia uses more energy from diesel than electricity, and now scientists have a plan to make clean fuel from what farmers throw away.

The country imports over 50 billion liters of refined petroleum products every year, with 60 percent being diesel. That's not just expensive. It's also responsible for nearly a third of Australia's total emissions.

Dr. Daniel Roberts leads CSIRO's Energy Technologies Research Program and sees a double win in homegrown low carbon liquid fuels. Cleaner air and energy security that doesn't depend on global oil markets.

"When we talk about sustainable aviation fuels or low carbon liquid fuels, there are really two drivers," Roberts explains. "One is emissions reduction. The other is fuel security."

Electric vehicles get most of the attention, but Roberts says the biggest challenge lies elsewhere. Aviation fuel, international shipping, diesel at remote mines and farms. These are the sectors keeping Australia's economy moving, and batteries can't power them.

CSIRO is pursuing two pathways to clean fuels. The first combines hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide to create synthetic jet fuel, methanol, or diesel. It's promising but still expensive and not yet at scale.

The second pathway is closer to reality. Converting biomass and waste into liquid fuels could deliver results much sooner. Forestry leftovers, agricultural waste, even urban garbage could become jet fuel or diesel.

"We have the opportunity domestically to build on existing technologies and make something really useful out of waste," Roberts says.

These aren't small operations. They're massive facilities processing thousands of tons of feedstock daily or powered by hundreds of megawatts of renewable energy. CSIRO recently helped demonstrate how agricultural waste can partially replace coal in steelmaking, proving the concept works at industrial scale.

The first plants will cost more, Roberts admits. That's how new technology works. But Australia can learn from international experience and skip some of the expensive mistakes.

The Ripple Effect

This isn't just about cleaner fuel. Using agricultural waste addresses land management problems like dryland salinity. Remote communities and industries could produce their own fuel instead of trucking it hundreds of miles. And building a domestic fuel industry means jobs and economic stability that doesn't vanish when global oil prices spike.

The shipping industry alone moves 90 percent of global trade and creates 3 percent of worldwide emissions. Australia's work on biofuels and alternatives like ammonia could help clean up one of the planet's dirtiest sectors.

With diverse feedstocks and abundant renewable energy, Australia has everything it needs to turn waste into the fuels that will power its hardest to electrify industries. The technology is ready. Now it's about building at the scale that matters.