The University of Queensland (UQ) has partnered with the Japanese Government’s Moonshot Research and Development Program to boost research and innovation in the commercial production of sustainable biofuels.
The partnership aims to tackle global issues such as sustainable food production and consumption.
UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry stated that the collaboration would see both institutions share expertise, conduct cooperative research initiatives, and encourage technological breakthroughs.
“By collaborating with the Moonshot program, we can leverage our strengths to enable a smarter and cleaner global food supply,” Professor Terry said.
“Given the world’s agricultural farmland is a finite resource, it’s going to require game-changing innovation to secure sustainable sources of food and energy for the global community over the coming decades,” Professor Terry added.
UQ’s research will first focus on developing a commercial supply of biofuels from the pongamia plant, an oil-rich legume grown in northern Australia.
According to Professor Damian Hine of UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, this is the start of a new sector.
Professor Hine stated that Japan had set high decarbonisation objectives for its aviation industry, including 10% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030 – and it is relying on UQ to help it meet these ambitions.
“We are exploring the stable supply of sustainable aviation fuel from pongamia and other crops – including genetics, speed breeding and propagation, protected cropping, digital agriculture and sustainable yet efficient farming systems,” Professor Hine said.
“Queensland is very well positioned to support the value chain for the future production of biofuels, as well as the development of other large industrial-scale projects that contribute to global decarbonisation efforts,” Professor Hine added.
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology President and Moonshot Goal 5 leader Professor Kazuhiro Chiba stated that the partnership with UQ will ultimately assist in reducing the demand for sustainable food supply.
“The world is facing a challenge to meet a global demand for food that is estimated to increase by 70% in less than 30 years. With a clear vision, we must think outside the box and establish food production systems that are environmentally friendly and support our communities,” Professor Chiba said.
