Powering Transport, Mining, and Aviation: Are Renewable Fuels Ready to Lead?
Fossil diesel drives Australia’s economy, but its emissions are the Achilles’ heel. Diesel powers everything from trucks, to ships, to mining fleets to construction sites, rail networks, and aircraft. But fossil diesel also accounts for 20% of national emissions, and the demand keeps rising.
So, what’s the plan?
Electrification is unlikely to meet the near-term decarbonisation needs of sectors that depend on high-powered, mobile machinery. In these contexts, battery-electric systems often fall short due to limitations in energy density, weight, refuelling time, and operational resilience. These applications require fuels that can deliver long runtimes, fast turnaround, and consistent performance in demanding environments.
In contrast, renewable diesel (RD) and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) are drop-in alternatives that integrate seamlessly with existing engines, logistics, and refuelling infrastructure. They are commercially available today and offer an immediate, low-friction pathway to decarbonisation, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors where electrification remains technically or economically out of reach.
And here's the kicker: we’ll need these fuels well into the 2050s. They’re not just a bridge; they’re the backbone of our short- to medium-term decarbonization strategy
Australia can be a Renewable Energy Superpower
We’ve got the goods:
RD feedstocks like canola, sugarcane, tallow, and used cooking oil
Abundant renewable energy
A strategic location and export-ready infrastructure
Australia is already a major global feedstock supplier for RD and SAF refineries by feedstocks. However, as highlighted in the recently released CSIRO report Australia has the potential to go far beyond that - to become a global leader in low carbon liquid fuels (LCLFs), while also strengthening its own energy resilience and emissions reduction goals.
What’s Needed to Make It Happen
To unlock this opportunity, we need:
Demand-side drivers like blending mandates. Regions like the US, EU, and UK have already implemented these policies, and they’ve driven steady, scalable growth in low carbon liquid fuels. Mandates create certainty, stimulate investment, and send a clear signal to producers and users alike
Tax credits. These help bridge the cost difference between fossil diesel and renewable diesel. Australia can apply tax credits that are preferential towards LCLF vs fossil diesel to balance the cost difference and incentivise broader adoption.
Without these, we risk missing the moment, and the market.
RD2GO’s Role in Australia’s Renewable Fuel Future
At RD2GO, we’re building a bridge between sustainability policy and real-world fuel supply. Our solutions help Australian businesses:
✅ Reduce emissions immediately with drop-in renewable diesel
✅ Source certified low carbon fuels made from local and export-quality feedstocks
✅ Boost fuel security by reducing reliance on imported diesel
This approach is closely aligned with the identified CSIRO pathways, by contributing to the national goal of building a sovereign, clean, and commercially viable liquid fuels industry.
If your business operates in mining, trucking, logistics, construction, or rail, the time to transition to renewable diesel in Australia is now.