Objective

The Australian Initiative for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (AISAF) was a coalition of the diverse participants from business, government and academia in Australia. It was operated as a part of the Alternative Transport Fuels Initiative of the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. AISAF’s vision is a long-term future for aviation powered by sustainable fuels.

The objectives of AISAF were to:

• Support the development and introduction of commercial supply chains for sustainable aviation fuels in Australia
• Engage and collaborate with partners in the USA and other countries

Description

AISAF was founded on 8 August 2012 as public private partnership supported by the aviation industry and the Australian Government. In August 2013, AISAF joined forces with Aviation Aerospace Australia (A/AA; aviationaerospace.org.au) the not-for-profit and independent association, with an overarching objective to contribute to the long-term health and sustainability of Australia's aviation and aerospace sector.

AISAF was structured around its Steering Committee and four working groups:

1. Research, Development & Demonstration – feedstocks and conversion technologies,
2. Fuel Certification & Qualification,
3. Environmental Impacts, and
4. Commercialisation.

The objectives of the working groups were to:

• Identify gaps in research, studies and analyses of the challenges in developing and commercialising sustainable aviation fuel and, where appropriate, facilitate the required research and analysis;
• Facilitate sharing of information to establish a common understanding amongst AISAF stakeholders of the current state of the sustainable aviation fuel industry domestically and internationally;

• Prioritise efforts to focus on significant domestic and international sustainable aviation fuel developments that will improve the integration of activities essential to the development of a commercially viable sustainable aviation fuels supply chain in Australia;
• Communicate and engage with sustainable aviation fuel stakeholders from across the supply chain to improve the integration of activities essential to the development of sustainable aviation fuels; and
• Implement the Work Plan under the Australia USA Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

As of 2015, this initiative is no longer active, and has been absorbed into the US Studies Centre's Alternative Transport Fuel Initiative at the University of Sydney.

Partners

Air New Zealand, Qantas Airways, Virgin Australia, Airbus, Boeing, GE, Baker & McKenzie, CSIRO, Queensland Sustainable Aviation Fuels Initiative, Australian Government, The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, CAAFI

Achievements to date

• Building out the Alternative Aviation Fuel Industry in the USA, State by State, 2015, http://ussc.edu.au/events/past/Building-out-the-Alternative-Aviation-Fuel-Industry-in-the-USA-State-by-State
• ​Low Carbon Transport on the Move Conference, 2015
• Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference, 2014
• Advanced Biofuels Industry Day, PACIFIC 2013, http://ussc.edu.au/events/past/Advanced-Biofuels-Industry-Day-at-PACIFIC-2013
• New South Wales Advanced Biofuels Industry Roundtable, Sydney, 22 February 2013, http://www.aisaf.org.au/events/new-south-wales-advanced-biofuels-industry-roundtable​
• Low Carbon Jet Fuel. The Industry Flight Path Conference, AIRSHOW2013, 26-27 February 2013, http://www.aisaf.org.au/events/low-carbon-jet-fuel-the-industry-flight-path
• Advanced Biofuels Industry Day, PACIFIC2013, 08 October 2013, http://www.aisaf.org.au/events/advanced-biofuels-industry-day​
• Sustainable aviation fuels Initiative joins forces with A/AA, 04 August 2013, ​http://www.aviationaerospace.org.au/airmail-article/sustainable-aviation-fuels-initiative-joins-forces-with-aviationaerospace-australia​

Contact information

• ​AISAF website: www.aisaf.org.au​
• The US Studies Centre: http://ussc.edu.au/research/alternative-transport-fuels-initiative
• Contact person: Dr. Susan Pond, AISAF Chair, aisaf-chair [at] aviationaerospace.org.au​