ATSE Symposium

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) recently held its 31st National Symposium, looking at the timely topic of Alternative Transport Fuels for Australia.

The Flagship’s Dr John Wright was among the leading authorities from Australia and overseas who addressed the topic.

Dr Wright drew from the Flagship’s Future Fuels Forum report and spoke about the need for a shift in Australia’s fuel mix in the near term to reduce our vulnerability to the economic, environmental and social impacts of rising oil prices and rising temperatures.

“Securing access to affordable and sustainable fuel underpins Australia’s economy and way of life and as a nation with relatively high vehicle use, we are vulnerable to the economic, environmental and social impacts of rising oil prices and rising temperatures,” Dr Wright said.

“To secure Australia’s future fuel it is vital that we move quickly to address the serious challenges facing the transport sector, including increasingly constrained international oil supplies and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Against the backdrop of awareness about peak oil, alternative fuels and greenhouse gas emissions, the Future Fuels Forum has sought to present a rational and cohesive view of the challenges and opportunities to be considered for assessment of Australia’s future fuel options.”

“After examining the techno-economic modelling results the Forum believes Australia’s fuel mix will shift in the near term to include the expanded use of diesel, gaseous fuels such as LPG and hybrid electric vehicles, with even greater diversity beyond 2020 that might include hydrogen, synthetic fuels from coal or gas and advanced biofuels that will not impact food production.”

The ATSE report Biofuels for transport: A roadmap for development in Australia was released at the symposium. The report recommends that a national Biofuels Institute is established, allowing Australia’s bio-industry researchers to work together and achieve greater outcomes in the domain than they can by working separately.

The report also finds that biofuels have a useful role to play as Australian transport fuels and can contribute to greenhouse gas mitigation and energy security. The ATSE concludes that second generation biofuels hold significant promise but more focused R&D is essential for eventual technological success.

Visit the ATSE website to view a copy of Biofuels for transport: A roadmap for development in Australia.

Download Fuel for thought - http://www.csiro.au/resources/FuelForThoughtReport.html