The Albanese government has extended the deadline for submissions from industry on the security of Australia’s AdBlue supply.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources recently released a Request for Information (RFI) that will inform decision-making on building resilience in the domestic diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) market.
You now have until 5pm on Monday, July 25, (extended from July 22) to have your say. To make a submission, click here.
The federal government said it is interested in better understanding the market for refined technical grade urea, which is the main component of DEF, also known as AdBlue.
In late 2021 and early 2022 global supply pressures highlighted limited flexibility in Australia’s DEF market.
“This had the potential to cause harmful economic impacts by disrupting Australia’s diesel-dependent transport and logistics system, particularly heavy trucking and other modern diesel vehicles that require DEF,” the department said.
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources is hoping the RFI process will help it better understand:
- Stocks, storage, supply chains and how the market is functioning.
- Ways to promote greater market transparency to support good decision-making by industry and government.
- Existing sovereign capability investments, new sovereign capability opportunities and projects in the pipeline that can be brought forward.
- What industry is doing to strengthen and diversify supply chains, including from international sources.
In recent months, concerns have been mounting about the imminent closure of Incitec Pivot in December, which will mean Australia will no longer have an onshore source of technical grade urea – a vital component used to make AdBlue.
In an update shared by the Australian Trucking Association, DGL AUSblue’s general manager, Matthew Berry, said there is an oversupply of AdBlue leading into December because AUSBlue has been importing significant volumes and Incitec Pivot is producing millions of litres a week.