​In 2013 Qantas and Shell Australia completed a landmark piece of research to understand the economic viability of producing aviation biofuel in Australia on a commercial scale.

The study, conducted with the support of the Federal Government, found that an aviation biofuel industry is technically viable but significant obstacles remain. Identifying natural oils as a proven source material, the study modelled a plant capable of producing 1.1 billion litres of renewable fuels, including jet fuel and diesel, per year using existing supply chain infrastructure.

To complete the study, the partners used a 3,000 tonnes-per-day reference facility, which would produce approximately 20,000 barrels of renewable hydrocarbons (diesel, SAF, naphtha and refinery gas) per day. Since Australia does not have existing hydroprocessing equipment that can be converted, the construction put capital expenditure at AUS$1 billion (2012). It was determined that, depending on the size of the facility and the process configuration used, between 5-35% of Qantas’ domestic fuel demand could be reached at a 50:50 blend (2013).