Episode #5
The three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle of first-of-a-kind, with Dave Stribley (HAMR Energy)
Australia takes 30 to 40 percent of its primary energy from liquid fuels. Dave Stribley's view is that we have barely started replacing them. Dave is co-founder of HAMR Energy, a low-carbon liquid fuels platform. He spent 15 years at ExxonMobil, ten of them on the Bass Strait assets and three in Qatar on LNG mega trains. He came back to Australia to help decommission Bass Strait, then left with Alex Smith to build HAMR. HAMR's flagship Portland Renewable Fuels project turns forestry residue from the Green Triangle into renewable methanol. A second facility in South Australia upgrades that methanol into sustainable aviation fuel. Total investment is around $1.8 billion, and the product is not yet a traded commodity. Joy McConnochie and Fraser Thompson cover the following with Dave: Leaving ExxonMobil, and the gap the founders saw in liquid fuels What HAMR Energy does, and why HAMR Fuels exists The Series A: Qantas, Airbus and thyssenkrupp Uhde as shareholders Portland Renewable Fuels: forestry residue, hydrogen and methanol Why methanol, and the commercial flexibility it buys The hub and spoke model, and the limits of the mega train Feedstock: the Green Triangle, and what comes after it The BHP biofuel trial with Berge Bulk and GCMD The partnerships that got the projects this far Why a demand signal matters more than more supply-side funding Sulphur, lead, and valuing the externality What a credible Australian demand mechanism needs The Investor Front Door, from the inside The three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle of FOAK Financing $1.8 billion in an undeveloped market Risk, and the better conversation to have with government What first-of-a-kind changes, and what it does not Advice for other first-of-a-kind developers Supply chains, ecosystems, and the China cost question Kathmandu to Everest: what Dave is excited about For the projects, deals and policy shaping clean industry, subscribe to the Cyan newsletter: https://cyan-ventures.beehiiv.com/ Key links: HAMR Energy: https://www.hamrenergy.com/ Investor Front Door: https://www.industry.gov.au/investor-front-door Cleaner Fuels Program: https://arena.gov.au/funding/cleaner-fuels-program/ Not covered in this episode, HAMR has secured up to $32M in ARENA funding in July 2026: https://arena.gov.au/assets/2026/07/ARENA-Media-Release_HAMR_22072026_FINAL.pdf Show notes: https://cyanventures.com.au/podcast/episode-5/ Watch the video: https://youtu.be/jE8M9ESdvMY
