<article><p class="lead">Australian refiner and retailer Ampol said it will trial a renewable diesel blend in the coming weeks after securing an initial customer in domestic building products and construction materials firm Hanson.</p><p>Ampol said the two-month trial that will begin shortly will enable it to evaluate the feasibility of renewable diesel in Australia. </p><p>The company will supply Hanson with a 20:80 blend of renewable diesel and ultra-low sulphur diesel with the addition of certain additives, although it would not reveal the source of the renewable diesel or volumes involved.</p><p>"This renewable diesel trial is another step in our development of a renewable fuels business in Australia," Ampol manager of international and new business Brent Merrick said on 22 September. "The availability of renewable diesel, particularly for hard to abate areas, is of particular interest as it does not require vast fleet or infrastructural changes."</p><p>The trial follows Ampol's <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2432417">partnership with Japanese oil and metals firm Eneos</a> to explore the production of renewable fuels at its 109,000 b/d Lytton refinery in Brisbane.</p><p>Australia has shifted its focus to replacing fossil fuels in the hard to abate sectors using liquid fuels, aiming to <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2461868">develop a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector</a>, while BP is developing plans for a <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2306808">renewable diesel and SAF plant</a> at its former Kwinana refinery in Western Australia by converting hydroprocessing equipment.</p><p class="bylines">By Tom Major</p></article>
