Without a whole of government, whole of country approach to the development of a temperate biomass value chain it is unlikely that biobased products and biorefineries will achieve a mass market in Australia. There are very significant opportunities and significant challenges to achieving a shift in the industrial activity away from non-renewable industries with high GHG emitting activities to renewable industries that are low GHG emitters. To achieve this change in thinking requires government intervention at all levels. Measures to achieve these goals in Australia are;
an informed and active public that understands the value and potential of bio-based products and the methods of their production;
co-ordinated, strategically funded research, development and education on the biomass value chain and its constituent parts;
government procurement that reflects and anticipates the development of bio-based products from renewable resources;
certainty in public policy on carbon trading and renewable energy targets;
legislation and regulations that reflect the benefits of producing bio-products from renewable resources, including nationally consistent and implemented sustainability criteria and frameworks;
public and private investment partnerships and models that recognise the true scale of funding required for the development of biorefineries with sufficient size and location to capture economies of scale; and
greater investment by business in all parts of the value chain.
The development of a value chain for temperate biomass delivering biobased products made in Australia, to Australia and for export will provide a multi-billion dollar basis for a low carbon bio-based economy. It will create new jobs, innovation and industry from national science and research linked to international collaborations and investment.
International studies have shown that establishing biorefineries will have significant effects in;
Mitigating climate change through significantly reducing GHG emission
Reduce reliance on imported dwindling and increasing costly fossil fuels (estimates of A$44B import disparity by 2030)
Reduce reliance on imported chemicals and plastics (currently disparity of over $12B between imports and exports) and provide a chemical plastics industry focussed on renewable resources
Opportunities to replace up to 87% of key plastics and chemicals produced from non-renewable resources.
Establishing biorefineries and biomass transformation value chains offer a pathway to deliver;
jobs security for the forest and chemical industries;
However, there is limited understanding amongst local industry, the Australian Government and the research community of the relevance of existing capabilities and infrastructure, or of the barriers to establishing biobased value chains. In Australia, almost all current activity along the biomass transformation value chain is directed toward supporting bioenergy production. This almost singular focus is useful to grow the industry but misses the significant and growing opportunity to create a broader bioeconomy based on biobased products from advanced materials and chemicals.
Actions to deliver Biorefineries and Biomass Value Chains
To achieve a vision for the development of a bioeconomy in Australia, based on renewable and sustainable biomass transformation, will require a reformation in the way industry, community and governments work. The opportunity is large and the challenge is equally as large. The following actions broadly cover different aspects of the value chain where government can impact the rate and scale of development.
Innovation
The proposed Biorefinery Institute should be supported with a broader remit to work closely with the NCRIS Facility in Mackay and expanded to enable research and development into biobased chemicals and materials. The Institute must have access to a demonstration scale facility capable of both thermo-chemical and fermentation transformation of biomass.
The Biorefinery Institute should cover all aspects of the value chain not just the end processing to bioproducts. In much the same way as an integrated Cooperative Research Centre, industry partners engaged in each part of the value chains should be involved in the Biorefinery Institute. Appropriate Rural Development Corporations should be encouraged to co-fund the Institute.
Australian SMEs and mid-sized companies should be provided assistance to access technologies and to develop partnerships with international companies and organisations, as part of the National Enabling Technology Strategy.
Efforts should be made to ensure that Australian companies, researchers and entrepreneurs are globally engaged to leverage international knowledge, value chains and companies to access markets, products and technologies. Expanding programs such as the bilateral science and technology grants and international ARC Linkage grants would provide some assistance. Importantly, there should be a link into the European Union Framework and initiatives such as CLIB2021 (www.CLIB2021.com )
Research collaborations, nationally and internationally, should be targeted for additional funding support to ensure access to the latest R&D. Such efforts should be linked to companies and a technology roadmap.
The government should examine and adopt strategies to stimulate the utilisation of biobased products in government procurements, thereby building consumer confidence, acceptance and demand for biobased products, similar to the US bio-preferred plan (www.biopreferred.com).
Investment
The venture funds supported by the Federal government should be obliged to consider proposals that encompass biobased products such as chemicals and materials.
In conjunction with industry, the government should develop and adopt a strategy that will actively promote and facilitate the position of Australia as a preferred location for investment in biorefineries.
The government should develop innovative investment instruments that provide opportunities for industry to lower the risks associated with the large infrastructure costs for environmentally sustainable value added industries in the biobased economy.
CPRS and RET mechanisms should be expanded to include all products originating from renewable biomass transformation.
Regulations and legislation can slow investment in parts of the value chain, e.g. transport and storage of biomass, environmental impacts statements. These should be considered as a package across the industry to ensure consistency and certainty for investors.
Sustainability
An internationally accepted and recognised environmental sustainability framework is needed for the development of biomass for use in biobased renewable products including chemicals and fuels.
A whole of government approach is necessary for the development of the industry and the coordination of activities of government and research providers. This could be achieved by way of an interdepartmental committee or through a single department or steering group under COAG being given responsibility for the development of an industry implementation and development strategy.
