The opening day of the 2026 Renewable Fuels Summit in Australia saw significant announcements, including new government funding and a major renewable gas project, signaling growing momentum in the country’s renewable fuels industry.
Analysis presented at the Summit indicates that Australia has sufficient feedstock to support a $10 billion-a-year renewable fuels sector, potentially creating more than 26,000 jobs while strengthening domestic fuel security and reducing reliance on imported fuels.
Jenny Merkley, Executive Director, Business and Industry Decarbonisation at the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, announced an $80 million funding boost aimed at supporting industrial decarbonisation.
The program will fund projects that help industry reduce emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources, including technologies that could replace conventional fossil fuels in sectors such as heavy transport, manufacturing, and gas supply.
“The funding announcement highlights the growing policy focus on technologies such as renewable gas and sustainable aviation fuel, which can decarbonise sectors that are difficult to electrify,” Merkley said.
Following the funding news, James McLeay, Co-Chief Executive Officer of LMS Energy, revealed plans to develop Australia’s first agricultural renewable gas facility.
The project, to be built at the SunPork piggery near Wasleys in South Australia, will convert piggery effluent into renewable natural gas for injection into the existing gas grid. Once operational, the facility is expected to produce enough renewable gas to supply around 2,000 homes.
Shahana McKenzie, CEO of Bioenergy Australia, said the announcements marked a shift from ambition to tangible deployment in the renewable fuels sector. “Government policy support and commercial projects coming forward at the same time is exactly what is needed to scale this sector,” she said.
McKenzie added that projects like the LMS renewable gas facility illustrate how Australia’s agricultural and waste resources could support a domestic renewable fuels industry.
“Australia has abundant agricultural and organic waste feedstocks that can be converted into renewable fuels and gases,” she said. “That creates new revenue opportunities for farmers, strengthens domestic fuel security, and helps reduce emissions across sectors that are difficult to electrify.”
The Summit, which runs through 12 March, features over 90 speakers, including 23 from international markets, and focuses on developing a competitive renewable fuels sector spanning feedstock development, waste integration, refining, infrastructure, certification, and access to global fuel markets.
“The focus now is on scaling projects, attracting investment, and ensuring Australia can compete in emerging global renewable fuel markets,” McKenzie said. “The Summit brings together the people who can make that happen—government, investors, and industry working together to turn opportunities into real projects.”
The Renewable Fuels Summit is APAC’s annual forum for collaboration and investment across renewable natural gas and low-carbon liquid fuels, offering more than 30 keynotes, panels, and technical sessions over three days.
For more information, visit renewablefuels.org.au.
