Australia’s impending AdBlue shortage has been eased by fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot and the Federal Government’s AdBlue Taskforce.
AdBlue is a diesel exhaust fluid which reduces emissions for vehicles as in road haulage fleets – a key part of the extractive industry – and an ingredient called urea was in short supply in late 2021.
In December, it was reported Australia had just five weeks’ worth of the resource remaining.
As Australia’s road haulage fleets are heavily regulated to reduce diesel emissions, the non-use of AdBlue had the potential to take thousands of trucks off Australian roads.
But Incitec Pivot has now increased its AdBlue production by around eight times, producing three million litres in one week – 75 per cent of Australia’s requirements.
The company has also commissioned an AdBlue distribution facility in Brisbane, capable of loading about three B Double trucks every hour.
The Federal Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor was grateful to Incitec Pivot for its efforts.
“I thank Incitec Pivot for stepping up as we work together to keep our trucks fuelled and Australian diesel motorists on the road,” Taylor said.
“While Australia currently has sufficient volumes of AdBlue to meet its needs, this local production will help restore normal national stock levels.”
Taylor has been leading the AdBlue Taskforce which has urged people to avoid hoarding the resource which would only worsen the supply chain for the wider community.
Chairman of the Construction Machinery and Equipment Industry Group (CMEIG) and Komatsu Australia’s executive general manager for construction, Dean Gaedtke, echoed this sentiment in December.
“What’s important is that we don’t go into panic buying. The best thing we all can do is work closely with our suppliers to have good visibility of the supply chain,” Gaedtke told Quarry.
“As a distributor, the OEMs in earthmoving don’t consume hundreds of thousands of litres of AdBlue. But certainly, our customers at the end of the supply chain might do, so that visibility is important.”
The National Road Transport Association – NatRoad – has nonetheless warned that the Federal Government’s deal with Incitec Pivot is a “stop-gap measure”.
“We are pleased to see supplies reaching retail but Incitec Pivot has told the markets it has not changed plans to cease manufacturing in December,” NatRoad’s CEO Warren Clark said.
“We said from the outset that the shortage is a global problem but that it also underlines the need for a secure onshore manufacturing capacity in Australia.”
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