History

In 2003 the directors of PRE, who were the primary founders of the The Australian Biodiesel Group Limited, began their search for a sustainable replacement for used cooking oil and Tallow which are currently used for biodiesel production in Australia. Their search ended on finding Pongamia Pinnata and visiting the fledgling Pongamia oil industry in India. They followed up this with a search for viable Australian native trees and then in the formation of Pacific Renewable Energy in January 2006. After learning the high variability of seed grown trees, they talked to Professor Peter Gresshoff of the University of Queensland's legume research division..

Research

PRE has teamed up with and The ARC Centre Of Excellence For Integrative Legume Research (CILR) to help identify and develop commercially viable genetic strains and develop clonal propagation methods appropriate for commercial production of Pongamia pinnata

Pongamia pinnata

Milletia pinnata is a species of tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, native in tropical and temperate Asia including parts of India, China, Japan, Malesia, Australia and Pacific islands. It is often known by the synonym Pongamia pinnata as it was moved to the genus Millettia only recently...

 in Australia. This has involved salt tolerance tests, mapping of the Pongamia's Genome and a number of other associated projects. According to Professor Peter Gresshoff and many who have worked with Pongamia, this research is vital for the establishment of a long-term commercial industry, particularly given the 4-6 year lead time before significant yields are realised.

PRE has partnered with CILR to plant a pilot plantation at Roma with Origin Energy

Origin Energy

-History:Origin Energy was formed in February 2000, as a result of a demerger from the Australian conglomerate Boral Limited, in which the energy business was removed from the building and construction materials business to form the new company....

. PRE also has its own trial plantation at Caboolture and trials in a number of other locations.

External links

• Pongamia biodiesel research starts in Queensland
• Sustainable Fuel Wiki
  Sustainable biofuel
  Biofuels, in the form of liquid fuels derived from plant materials, are entering the market, driven by factors such as oil price spikes and the need for increased energy security...