Australian low-carbon liquid fuels firm HAMR Vitality has closed a $10 million Sequence A funding spherical backed by Airbus, Qantas and industrial agency Thyssenkrupp Uhde.
The spherical opened in mid-2025 will help the Victorian startup changing plantation forestry residues into low-carbon fuels for hard-to-abate transport sectors, resembling aviation and delivery.
The funding from Qantas and Airbus has been made by their joint Australian Sustainable Aviation Gasoline funding fund, with present traders additionally recommitting to the enterprise.
“This funding spherical is a pivotal second for HAMR Vitality and for Australia’s clear power future,” mentioned HAMR Vitality cofounder David Stribley.
“With the backing of world-class companions, we’re advancing initiatives to ship the lowest-cost, lowest-carbon fuels to decarbonise aviation and delivery at scale.”
The corporate’s flagship challenge, Portland Renewable Fuels (PRF) in regional Victoria, is designed to supply 300,000 tonnes per 12 months of low-carbon methanol utilizing residues from the native plantation forestry trade.
Based on the enterprise, that methanol can be utilized straight as a marine gas or transformed into sustainable aviation gas (SAF).
Expertise supplier Honeywell will help the challenge by its UOP eFining course of expertise, enabling renewable gas manufacturing from methanol.
Sustainable jet gas
Along with PRF, HAMR Vitality is growing Australia’s first main methanol-to-jet gas facility, which may have the capability to transform methanol into greater than 135 million litres of SAF yearly.
The ability is anticipated to create lots of of jobs throughout building and as much as 130 long-term operational roles as soon as established.
HAMR Vitality says world demand for SAF is estimated to succeed in 500 million tonnes by 2050, and the corporate’s initiatives may play an vital function in constructing home manufacturing whereas supporting Australia’s decarbonisation and power safety targets.
“Constructing sustainable aviation gas provide in Australia is crucial to assembly our decarbonisation targets and decreasing aviation’s emissions,” mentioned Qantas Group chief sustainability officer Fiona Messent.
“However the advantages lengthen effectively past our trade — a home SAF sector means jobs, regional funding, and financial progress throughout Australia.
“HAMR Vitality’s vertically built-in method represents a major step ahead, and we’re proud to help manufacturing that may assist set up this crucial native trade.”
Stephen Forshaw, Airbus chief for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, described HAMR Vitality’s methanol pathway as an “attention-grabbing expertise pathway” to speed up the trade’s transition to sustainable fuels.
“Creating low carbon gas manufacturing in additional of Australia’s states has the potential to create broad entry for offtakers throughout the nation — so vital once we take into account the attain of our trade,” Forshaw mentioned.
