A federal funding injection well help kickstart a ground-breaking project at Richmond to turn the noxious prickly acacia weed into a valuable carbon-neutral energy source.
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In March Green Day Energy had joined forces with the Richmond Shire Council and CQUniversity to design, construct and commission a $30 million biomass plant in the Richmond shire to turn prickly acacia weed into a torrefied product - a carbon-neutral alternative for coal.
Now the company will receive $5 million from the federal Securing Raw Materials Program.
Green Day Energy founder Brad Carswell said the funding would help build a mobile torrefaction plant and conduct a pilot program as a "proof of concept" for commercialisation.
The torrefied product was ideal for use in cogeneration power plants and suitable to export to Japan, the United Kingdom and throughout Europe. The current worldwide demand for carbon-neutral product was 15 million tonnes per year, predicted to rise to 50 million tonnes within a decade, with torrefied products boasting an impressive 24GJ of energy per tonne.
Mr Carswell said Queensland could be front and centre of the forecast surge in demand with Stage 2 of the project involving green hydrogen produced from bio-char - at a production rate of 100,000 tonne of bio-char, 21 million kilograms of green hydrogen can be produced annually.
"Green Day Energy believes this will deliver a triple bottom line, with economic and social benefits to the region while delivering an environmental outcome," Mr Carswell said.
Prickly acacia trees grow as high as eight metres and draw moisture and nutrients out of the ground, degrading soil and causing erosion.
KAP leader Robbie Katter said prickly acacia was a cancer in Queensland's grazing sector and a scourge on biosecurity and economic viability, infesting 23 million hectares of prime land and the pilot program and proposed torrefaction plant would also create jobs and economic opportunities in the region.
"Creating more jobs in western Queensland is always a priority of mine and I support endeavours such as these to put more people in work while delivering a highly-valuable product, with the significant bonus of managing a noxious weed," Mr Katter said.
Due to widespread supply chain issues, construction of the plant was currently expected to take up to 12 months.
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