Brisbane company looking for biorefinery site

A BRISBANE biotech company is advancing plans to develop a bio- manufacturing hub in a sugarcane producing region of Queensland.

Burdekin, Far North Queensland, Mackay and Bundaberg have been earmarked by Leaf Resources as possible sites for a new biorefinery. Minister for State De- velopment, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick recently met with representatives from Leaf Resources at the Bio World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology in Philadelphia to confirm the company’s next steps in advancing a potential regional Queensland biorefinery.

“Leaf Resources, based at Eight Mile Plains, is proposing a biorefinery that would use patented technology known as Glycell to speed up and reduce the cost of converting plant waste such as sugarcane fibre into sustainable chemicals, biofuels and bioplastics,” Mr Dick said.

“This is world- leading technology with the potential to attract other biorefinery companies to the state, seeking the industrial sugars produced by the technology. The company sees the potential for Glycell technology to support development of a bio- manufacturing hub in regional Queensland.”

Mr Dick said the company would use funding from the Queensland Government’s Biofutures Acceleration Program to start validation works and pre- feasibility studies into plant waste and biomass.