Bioenergy National Feedstock Roundtable report

The Australian National Feedstock Roundtable Participant sentiment and key insights

21 October 2025

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Roundtable overview The National Feedstock Roundtable was convened to align a diverse range of sectors and industries to address feedstock challenges, emphasise crosssector collaboration, and support national low-carbon fuel and renewable gas growth.

The Australian National Feedstock Roundtable

Additional information Participants

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Contact us

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Roundtable insights Insights from the Roundtable’s live polling and discussions revealed four key areas:

This report captures and summarises the insights and sentiments expressed during the roundtable discussion. It is intended to reflect the views shared at the event and does not represent any analysis, conclusions, or endorsements beyond those contributions.

Bioenergy forward

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Roundtable purpose

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Barriers affecting the feedstock sector from maximising potential, Barriers limiting feedstock suppliers’ engagement with the low-carbon liquid fuel (“LCLF”) and renewable natural gas (“RNG”) industry, Overall constraints at the broader Australian LCLF, and RNG sectors, and targeted actions needed to address these challenges effectively.

Mapping feedstock hotspots

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Advancing critical infrastructure

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Demand and supply policies

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Cross-sector collaboration

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Bioenergy Australia Foreword Discussions at the National Feedstock Roundtable highlighted the need to strengthen knowledge sharing and education across the value chain to build a shared understanding of feedstock opportunities and challenges. Participants highlighted that coordinated supply-side and demand-side policies are required to provide market certainty, attract investment, and position Australia’s feedstock sector as the foundation for the long-term success of the nation’s low-carbon liquid fuels and renewable gas industries.

The National Feedstock Roundtable proved to be a highly constructive initiative. Participants represented a diverse range of industries, including agriculture, forestry, waste, energy, manufacturing, construction, transport, and mining. Participant engagement highlighted that feedstock is a priority cutting across multiple sectors, with challenges and opportunities recognised as national rather than sector-specific. Industry demonstrated a strong commitment to continue working with government to develop strategies that position the sector for success, while also taking a leading role in driving progress.

Perceived availability of feedstock resources

Several focus areas of discussion emerged during the Roundtable, shaped by expert presentations and participant engagement.

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Market access, policy signals, and industry alignment

Industry readiness

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Demand outlook is strong, with several LCLF and RNG projects already announced and in development.

The success of the first wave of projects will be crucial in building confidence among investors, policymakers, and the public. Adequate support is needed to ignite early industry growth and development.

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Mapping and understanding feedstock supply is highly complex, with many efforts underway by different organisations, but little consolidation. A stronger coordination of data and transparency is needed.

Building on current feedstock resource data and mapping studies can strengthen alignment of Australian feedstock potential. Enhancing opportunities for biohubs, increasing confidence in supply, and attracting investment.

Feedstock supply is dynamic, affected by seasonal variability, competing end-uses, and regional logistics constraints.

Different feedstock providers are at varying stages of understanding their potential and readiness to engage with the low-carbon fuel industry.

Feedstock sustainability and certification emerged as a key area of focus for all sectors. Yet, there are uneven levels of understanding among participants about how carbon intensity is measured, certified, and valued.

Certification approaches will increasingly determine which feedstocks attract buyers.

While carbon accounting frameworks exist, uncertainty on how certification applies these frameworks and aligns with market expectations could delay industry planning and investment.

Importance of cross-sector collaboration •

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The success of LCLF and RNG depends on cross-sector collaboration with the feedstock sector, leveraging synergies between agriculture practices, waste recovery, and low-carbon fuel production.

Promoting knowledge sharing of carbon accounting and carbon intensity among feedstock providers and LCLF and RNG stakeholders will enhance understanding of reporting requirements and enable stronger collaboration between sectors.

Increasing engagement with farmers and feedstock producers to position them as central stakeholders in developing the national feedstock strategy is essential for the strategy’s success.

Social license and sustainability •

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communities, and that community trust is fundamental for sector growth.

Australia’s substantial feedstock resources indicate the country has the potential and capability to develop an industry that supports “food, fibre, feed, and fuel”.

Key role of government for industry growth relies on policy •

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Coordinated policy setting across wholeof-government is integral, as without it, industry risks being held back by inconsistent or fragmented policies.

Targeted initiatives should support feedstock mobilisation, infrastructure, and logistics to enable efficient supply chains, connect producers with low-carbon fuel industries, and accelerate sector growth.

Effective supply-side and demand-side policies and policy coordination are needed develop a domestic LCLF and RNG industry.

Government support for innovation in agricultural practices and R&D into novel and underutilised feedstocks will broaden and diversify the feedstock base, unlocking greater supply capacity.

Increase community education and awareness of the feedstock, LCLF and RNG sectors, emphasising that the economic benefits of developing this industry must be shared with and understood by local 3

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What was Australia’s National Feedstock Roundtable and what did it achieve?

On 28 August 2025, Bioenergy Australia convened the National Feedstock Roundtable in Canberra, in collaboration with Deloitte, industry and government.

The National Feedstock Roundtable brought together Australia’s agriculture, waste, and energy sectors to discuss how to best support and optimise Australia’s critical feedstock industry to accelerate the development of LCLF and RNG. The Roundtable was facilitated by Deloitte with speakers from Deloitte, The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), GrainCorp, Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), and The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The purpose of the Roundtable was to understand the challenges, barriers, and opportunities faced by potential feedstock providers, and to create a platform for collaboration and information sharing across sectors. Four key themes were discussed to gather insights and stimulate participant discussion. These themes included: Understanding and Quantifying the Feedstock Resource

Industry Readiness and Appetite

Sustainability and Social License

Market Access, Policy Signals, and Strategic Industry Alignment

Of the four key themes, four insights emerged from participant discussions during the roundtable: Badge 1 with solid fill

Developing an understanding of the biobased feedstock market opportunity and size will attract investment interest. This requires assessment of available feedstock supply by type and region.

Link with solid fill

Badge 3 with solid fill

Badge with solid fill

Developing an understanding of the biobased feedstock market opportunity and size will attract investment interest. This requires assessment of available feedstock supply by type and region.

Supporting the RNG and LCLF markets requires targeted feedstock infrastructure, mobilisation, and logistics to enable supply chain growth. Without clear support signals from government, confidence to scale capital investments becomes limited.

Supporting the RNG and LCLF markets requires targeted feedstock infrastructure, mobilisation, and logistics to enable supply chain growth. Without clear support signals from government, confidence to scale capital investments becomes limited.

Ensuring policy makers establish transparent, market-based, and technology-neutral policies that balance sustainable feedstock development, strengthen energy security, support domestic economic activity, and enable efficient emissions reduction.

Badge 4 with solid fill

Ensuring policy makers establish transparent, market-based, and technology-neutral policies that balance sustainable feedstock development, strengthen energy security, support domestic economic activity, and enable efficient emissions reduction.

Enhancing collaboration across sectors along the value chain will reduce information asymmetry and deliver benefits to sustainable feedstock management and regional economies.

Enhancing collaboration across sectors along the value chain will reduce information asymmetry and deliver benefits to sustainable feedstock management and regional economies.

Live polling conducted by Deloitte captured participant perspectives on the progression and status of Australia’s feedstock and low-carbon fuel sectors, key barriers to cross-sector alignment, and potential solutions to these challenges. The data helped create a clearer understanding of industry views across the value chain and identified priority actions to inform market development and support. The live polling included:

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Participants

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Critical Questions

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Responses

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© 2025 Deloitte SRT Pty Ltd.

Developing an understanding of the biobased feedstock market opportunity and size will attract investment interest. This requires assessment of available feedstock supply by type and region.

Recommendations for government and industry Federal and state government to coordinate a comprehensive feedstock supply analysis as part of the forthcoming National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy, identifying biomass potential and distinguishing between theoretical potential and practical feedstock uses.

Industry to share and coordinate data through initiatives such as the National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy to help industry determine economic outcomes, project viability, and feedstock requirements. These insights could then be used to evaluate value pools and inform commercial decision making.

Government to allocate resources and funding to drive innovation through pilot projects that demonstrate agricultural advancements, such as those that could help expand feedstock supply and improve carbon intensity, such as: • New crop rotations, • Novel feedstocks, • Planting on marginal land, • Inclusion of Carbon Capture Storage for treatment and processing, and • Adoption of new catalysts and enzymes.

Building on the Australian Government’s ongoing efforts to develop the National Bioenergy Feedstock Strategy, enhancing feedstock transparency and advancing agricultural innovation are identified as critical steps.

The Roundtable revealed the need to drive clarity on the market’s full potential and priority investment areas. Major barriers included limited transparency around current and future feedstock supply, and insights around the commercial viability of feedstocks and locations.

Participants highlighted the need for clearer information on feedstock carbon intensity, consolidation of the various mapping initiatives underway across government and industry, and how food and fuel production can coexist.

Almost half of the feedstock industry are prioritising other end-use markets 42% of feedstock suppliers and aggregators are prioritising established demand drivers, such as overseas supply until clearer demand signals emerge within the clean fuels value chain.

Participants highlighted the importance of investigating and understanding carbon intensity for both conventional and emerging feedstocks. They emphasised prioritising the mapping and alignment of carbon intensity frameworks with key international trading partners to support the development of Guarantee of Origin (GO) standards.

Link with solid fill

The image above illustrates the LCLF project pipeline across the Asia Pacific region, with bubble sizes representing announced capacity. For more details on Deloitte’s SAF Lighthouse initiative, please click the provided link.

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Insights highlighted that consistent and competitively priced supply of high-quality feedstock is constrained by perceived costs of processing and limited infrastructure and transport across the supply chain.

Australia’s nascent LCLF/RNG feedstock infrastructure reflects limited investor appetite based on the status of the industry.

While government investment can support the initiation of infrastructure and supply chain development, achieving large-scale outcomes depends on sustained private capital investment, which requires attractive returns.

Participants indicated that understanding long-term economics was the greatest barrier in entering low-carbon fuels market 75% of industry participants indicate a need for concessional funding

50% of forestry producers call for government-led infrastructure development

Majority of feedstock suppliers and aggregators expressed that the cost of expanding their production is too high and they require government grants for infrastructure, R&D and regional scale-up.

When asked about government initiatives to advance clean fuels, 50% of forestry producers highlighted the need for government led studies on supply chain cost and logistics, and investment to develop infrastructure and regional hubs.

Supporting the LCLF and RNG markets requires targeted feedstock infrastructure, mobilisation, and logistics to enable supply chain growth.

Without clear support signals from government, confidence to scale capital investments becomes limited.

Recommendations for government and industry Industry to identify and provide the government with priority logistical barriers to LCLF and RNG deployment, focusing on site-and-region-specific infrastructure needs. Government should include these priorities in a dedicated section of Australia’s Infrastructure Plan to guide targeted infrastructure development and support industry growth at local, regional, and national levels.

Industry should identify the most promising infrastructure and supply chain business models, highlighting key opportunities and challenges to guide targeted government support.

State and federal governments should develop detailed guidance and long-term investment plans based on industry needs, including assessments of costs, benefits, and carbon intensity, to address barriers and maximise the impact of public funding.

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© 2025 Deloitte SRT Pty Ltd.

Ensuring policy makers establish transparent, market-based, and technology-neutral policies that balance sustainable feedstock development, strengthen energy security, support domestic economic activity, and enable efficient emissions reduction.

Transparent government supply and demand policies, developed with industry input to drive feedstock supply and LCLF and RNG uptake, are essential to grow Australian fuels and feedstock sectors. Increasing LCLF and RNG production will send a credible demand signal to feedstock suppliers, hence facilitating the expansion of domestic feedstock supply.

Policies must be market-based and technology-neutral, aiming to develop a competitive market which drives measurable improvements in feedstock price and quality, decreasing carbon intensity and cost of abatement through stronger demand and technological advancement.

50% of feedstock suppliers and aggregators require clear demand signals Most of the feedstock industry stated that insufficient and unclear market demand signalling has been a major barrier when considering participating in the renewable fuels sectors.

Recommendations for government: LCLF and industry Government to develop a demand-side policy to ensure realistic demand measures are appropriately considered. Frameworks with broad coverage that set clear, outcome-focused performance targets, aiming to minimise costs for consumers. These frameworks should include broad coverage, set ambitious and achievable targets, and aim to minimise costs for consumers.

Government to consult across the supply chain on the $1.1 billion Cleaner Fuels Program production incentive for LCLFs to ensure it effectively drives impact, addresses industry needs, reduces barriers, and supports growth and uptake of LCLF production.

Facilitate a buyer's club to aggregate demand for LCLF and RNG, improving cost efficiency.

RNG policy Government to identify opportunities to expand existing initiatives, such as the Hydrogen Headstart and the Hydrogen Production Tax Incentive to include RNG.

Include RNG as an investment area within the Future Made in Australia initiative. This will allow RNG to be considered alongside other critical emission reduction pathways, such as renewable hydrogen and LCLF.

Allocate targeted funding to support the establishment of the RNG sector covering development, capital and operational aspects to support bridging the cost gap between RNG and fossil gas during the early market phase.

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Engaging stakeholders involved in local feedstock development and supply, the production, processing, and supply of LCLF and RNG through coordinated collaboration will reduce information gaps to accelerate knowledge transfer, strengthen sector cohesion, and enable more focused and effective project delivery.

Co-action (Figure 1) is a structured framework that brings researchers, funders and users together during the early stages of knowledge acquisition/creation to ensure that research insights result in evidenceinformed policies that reflect cross-sector perspectives. The 3 stages, design, analysis, and creation form a continuous cycle of learning and improvement.1 Figure 1: The Co-Action process

DESIGN Joint framing of issues and questions

CREATION

Identify social partners

COLLABORATION Joint evaluation of impacts of policies, strategies and interventions

Joint development of policy scenarios

Analysis and modelling Two-way validation

ANALYSIS

Joint review of policy and innovation agendas

Enhancing collaboration across sectors along the value chain will reduce information asymmetry and deliver benefits to sustainable feedstock management and regional economies.

Recommendations for industry Industry to convene multi-stakeholder workshops and focus groups to collaboratively share insights, build networks, and enhance both industry and cross-sector knowledge regarding feedstock deployment.

Industry to support the roll out of key government initiatives such as the National Feedstock Strategy, Low Carbon Fuels Consultation, Guarantee of Origin Scheme methodology development and the CSIRO’s Low Carbon Fuels Knowledge Hub. Industry to work with government to prioritise critical infrastructure upgrades required to accelerate the sector.

1 Adapted from Karcher, D. B., Cvitanovic, C., Hobday, A. J., Shellock, R., Stephenson, R. L. & Van Putten, I. 2025, ‘Best bang for your buck: Considerations for cost-efficiency in knowledge co-production’, Marine

Policy, vol. 180, p. 106769. Link;

62% of participants have limited knowledge about feedstocks and their importance in producing LCLF and RNG highlighting a major gap in industry understanding. With less than half feeling well-informed; this gap hinders effective decision-making and slows sector growth.

Industry to drive cross-sector messaging that supports the “food, fibre, feed, and fuel” narrative, showcasing how Australia’s low-carbon industry complements rather than compromises Australian agriculture resources.

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List of participants

Airlines for Australia & New Zealand

LMS Energy

AGRENEW

Manildra Group

Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)

Maritime Industry Australia Ltd (MIAL)

Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)

Meat and Livestock Australia

Australian Constructors Association

National Farmers Federation

Australia Forest and Wood Innovations (AFWI) Centre for Sustainable Futures

NSW Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

Australian Forest Products Association

NSW Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water - GreenPower Accreditation Program

Australian Oilseeds Foundation

NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Australian Sugar Manufacturers

Nufarm

Bioenergy Australia

Oil Mallee Association of Australia

Blunomy

Qantas

Brickworks

Queensland Department of Primary Industries

CANEGROWERS

Queensland University of Technology

Cargill

Race for 2030 Cooperative Research Centres

Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)

ResourceCo

CSIRO

Rio Tinto

Cyan Ventures

Truck Industry Council

Deloitte

University of South Queensland

Energy Users Association of Australia

Water Services Association of Australia

DAFF

Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts Forestry Australia Grain Trade Australia GrainCorp Energy GrainGrowers Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) – Spiegare

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Contact us Shahana McKenzie CEO Bioenergy Australia shahana@bioenergyaustralia.org.au

Peter Holt Partner, Strategy Risk & Transactions Deloitte Australia peholt@deloitte.com.au

Matt Walden Partner, Strategy Risk & Transactions Deloitte Australia mawalden@deloitte.com.au

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