When Formula 1 cars nudge speeds of 330 kilometres per hour next season, hundreds of millions of people will witness existing engines and infrastructure working with a fuel once considered futuristic. The fuel burning inside the turbocharged V6 engines won't be gutted from the Earth like traditional fossil fuels; instead, most will be chemically synthesised and involve the recycling of existing carbon dioxide — making it close to carbon neutral. Five different companies — many of them sponsors — will be supplying the 100 per cent synthetic and biofuel to the 11 teams on the grid, once again positioning Formula 1 as the breeding ground of the kind of innovation that trickles to road cars and other vehicles. Industry stakeholders believe these low-carbon liquid fuels provide a window of opportunity for Australia, claiming it can help connect the vehicles, ships and planes of today to a net-zero tomorrow, and create a multi-billion-dollar domestic manufacturing industry that would also bolster the nation's fuel security. At least two companies are looking at manufacturing synthetic fuel in Australia — HIF (Highly Innovative Fuels) and Zero Petroleum — with each expected to start construction on plants in 2026. HIF is aiming to produce 100 million litres of synthetic fuel a year once its manufacturing plant is up and running in 2030. The company, which counts Porsche among its investors, claims it is spending about $2 billion constructing the plant in Tasmania.
The federal government is hoping to foster a low-carbon liquid fuel manufacturing industry in Australia, announcing $250 million in grants in March. But the industry is asking for the kind of regulations popping up in other parts of the world, including mandates that would require select sectors to blend a percentage of synthetic fuel with their current fossil stock. In May, Qantas imported almost 2 million litres of sustainable fuel, hoping to blend it at a ratio of 18 per cent with traditional jet fuel.The airline claims it could power the equivalent of 900 flights from Sydney to Auckland, reducing carbon emissions by 3,400 tonnes. But it had to shop overseas, importing the biofuel from Malaysia.
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