Symposium to discuss changes in biofuels legislation

The 2016 National Biofuels Symposium, to be held in Brisbane from 22–23 August, will take place in the midst of several major changes to the industry.

After more than a decade of debate, the Queensland Government will introduce a biofuels mandate on 1 January 2017 — eight years after such a mandate was introduced in NSW. However, Queensland’s next big challenge is to educate motorists on the benefits of biofuels, with many motorists wrongly thinking it will damage their car engine.

“The mandate will put the spotlight on biofuels, including ethanol-blended fuel known as E10,” said Mark Sutton, the CEO of symposium organiser the Biofuels Association of Australia (BAA).

“The vast majority of cars can use E10 and for anyone in doubt it is just a simple matter of checking with their car manufacturer.”

Marc J Rauch, vice president of The Auto Channel in the US, will be international guest speaker at the symposium. He noted, “Ethanol is the preferred fuel for the combustion engine, but throughout history around the world vested interests changed that.

“Every internal combustion engine is damaged by petrol or diesel — they leave behind filthy deposits which turn to clogging goo,” he said.

The symposium will also feature an opening address from Queensland Premier Anna Palaszczuk and a keynote address from Dr Gerard J Ostheimer, global lead for the United Nations SE4ALL Program. Other speakers will include:

• Garry Mulvay, chair, Biofuels Association of Australia
• Robert Wood, head of sustainability, Virgin Australia
• Flyn Van Ewijk, head of sustainability, Qantas
• Kevin Weiss, chief executive officer, Byogy Renewables
• Pramod Chaudhari, executive chairman, Praj Industries, India
• Dr Rhys Bollen, executive director policy, Better Regulation Division NSW Department of Finance and Services
• Dr Doug Stuart, technical development manager, Ecotech Biodiesel
• Larissa Rose, chief executive officer, Queensland Renewable Fuels Association
• Wayne Newtown, president, Agforce
• Professor Robert Henry, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
• Peter Blanchard, chief executive officer, Institute of Automotive Mechanical Engineers
• Penny Townley, biofuel campaign director
• Dr Ian O’Hara, principal research fellow, Queensland University of Technology
• Matt Walden, program manager major projects, ARENA
• Stephanie Jolly, Qld Department of Energy and Water Supply

With 300 delegates expected to attend the event, the conference is anticipated to be a landmark gathering for the biofuels industry. For more information and to register, visit http://biofuelsassociation.com.au/2016-symposium/information/.