NEW MACKAY PLANT TO LEAD THE AUSTRALIAN CHARGE INTO BIOFUELS

A new $10 million bio pilot plant in Mackay will help Australia become a leading player in the revolutionary new bio products industry.

Bio products are fuels, plastics and chemicals made from plants (biomass) - instead of petroleum.

Queensland University of Technology’s Mackay Renewable Biocommodities Pilot Plant was officially opened today by Premier Anna Bligh, Federal Innovation Minister, Senator Kim Carr, and Primary Industries Minister Tim Mulherin.

Ms Bligh said diminishing oil reserves and the effects of climate change mean we must develop cleaner, greener, renewable alternatives to petroleum-based products and fuels.

“Bio products offer that cleaner, greener alternative. They are renewable, produce less greenhouse gas, and will reduce our reliance on petroleum. They are our future.

“In the years ahead we will turn sugar cane waste, forest and garden waste, other crops like sorghum and even algae into fuel, plastics, paints, adhesives and other chemicals.

“Technologies to create these products are continually being developed in laboratories.

“This pilot plant will road test these technologies and help refine and develop them to prove they can work on a commercial scale.

“One of the plant’s first research projects will focus on turning bagasse – the waste product from sugar cane production – into ethanol.

“This is the only plant of its kind in Australia and one of the few in the world available for this kind of research. Scientists from across the globe are lining up to use this facility,” Ms Bligh said.

Senator Carr said the Mackay plant would lead the push to develop a globally competitive industrial biotechnology sector in Australia and attract world-class researchers and international companies to the area.

“This new facility is very important – not just for the Mackay area and Queensland, but for the whole of Australia,” Senator Carr said.

“Biofuels and biotechnology are exciting and emerging areas and there is an opportunity for Australia to lead the way as the practical uses and commercial benefits of this technology are revealed.

“The cutting-edge work that will occur here in Mackay could lead to a new, productive and profitable biorefining industry for Australia.

“The new plant will use biomass to manufacture sustainable biofuels and other renewable products. I understand that the plant already has a number of major projects on the go and it will be operating at or near capacity from day one.

“It will be available to companies and public and private sector researchers and bring new investment to the local area.

“It is ideally located on the site of the Mackay Sugar Ltd Racecourse Mill and its proximity to the local sugar mills is a major advantage.

“The Queensland University of Technology brings considerable biomass harvesting, transportation, storage, processing and analytical expertise to the plant,” Senator Carr said.

Primary Industries Minister and Member for Mackay Tim Mulherin said the pilot plant will help broaden the region’s economy.

“The bio-based industrial products sector is one of the world’s fastest growing industries and with this pilot plant we are in a unique position to capitalise on this.

“It will put Mackay at the forefront of an exciting new field that will impact on energy security, climate change, regional development and investment.

“Technologies developed here may be exported to the world.

“Potentially thousands of ‘green’ jobs could be created in regional Queensland where the crops to be used as biomass will be grown,” Mr Mulherin said.

The plant is owned and operated by QUT. It was established with $3.1 million in funding from the Queensland Government and $5.2 million in Federal Government funding including $3.4 million under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy and $1.8 million under the Super Science Initiative.

Media contacts:

Premier’s Office - Mark Symons 0439 673 287

Senator Kim Carr’s Office - Aban Contractor 0457 989 842