Food waste to energy source at Carole Park company

Innovation resulting from a partnership between an Ipswich water treatment company and a Carole Park food producer will be given a helping hand to upscale with a $400,000 Queensland Government grant.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, who this week attended the international BIO 2017 conference in San Diego, said Aquatec Maxcon was one of six recipients that would help put Queensland at the forefront of the global bioindustrial revolution.

“Aquatec Maxcon has been working with Trisco Foods at Carole Park and have already tested technology to create energy from food waste at pilot scale,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“In order to take the technology to national and international markets, upscaling the technology to demonstration standard is essential.

“That’s why we’re providing this funding because we want to see ideas like this exported from Queensland to the rest of Australia and around the world.

“This is the kind of technology that can turn waste disposal into an energy source.”

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch said the project was funded out of the Advance Queensland $5 million Biofutures Commercialisation Program.

Ms Enoch said the BCP, part of the Advance Queensland Biofutures Roadmap, set out to increase the capability and scale of the biofutures industry in Queensland.

“We want to see the biofutures industry grow in Queensland,” Ms Enoch said.

“That’s why we’re prepared to invest in people and companies with new ideas to get new technologies up and running.”

Member for Ipswich West, Jim Madden said the Palaszczuk Government’s Advance Queensland program was showing real results throughout the State.

“What we are seeing is strong business investment and long term jobs in our local community and I applaud the Premier and Minister Enoch for selling the Advance Queensland message internationally,” Mr Madden said.