Qantas, Airbus to invest up to $200mln to develop Australian sustainable aviation fuel industry

Qantas, Airbus to invest up to $200mln to develop Australian sustainable aviation fuel industry

DOHA - Qantas Airways and Airbus said on Sunday they would invest up to $200 million to accelerate the development of a sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) industry in Australia to help meet the airline's goal of lowering carbon emissions.

The agreement, announced on the sidelines of global airline industry body IATA's annual meeting in Doha, is in line with Qantas' target of using 10% SAF in its fuel mix by 2030 and comes after it placed a multi-billion dollar order for Airbus narrowbody and widebody planes last month.

The global airline industry, aiming to reach net zero emissions by 2050, is relying on SAF usage to rise from around 100 million litres (26 million gallons) a year in 2021 to at least 449 billion litres a year within three decades, a mammoth and costly undertaking.

With no commercial-scale sources in Australia, Qantas is sourcing SAF in London and Los Angeles.

"This investment will help kickstart a local biofuels industry in Australia and hopefully encourage additional investment from governments and other business and build more momentum for the industry as a whole," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.

The investment, which includes A$50 million ($35 million) of funding previously committed by Qantas, could