An industry group led by farmer Alan Richardson and project developer Enzo Gullotti has become the third outfit looking to build a canola processing plant in WA.
An industry group led by farmer Alan Richardson and project developer Enzo Gullotti has become the third outfit looking to build a canola processing plant in WA.
The project, led by Mr Gullotti’s Infrastructure Asset Group (IAG) under its Australian Canola Oils brand, is looking for growers to back an initial $10 million capital raising.
Commodity Ag, operated by Mr Richardson and his family, is the foundation partner for the project.
The Richardsons are large growers in the Great Southern, managing approximately 20,000 hectares.
In 2023, they expanded into bulk exporting via Albany, building their own supply chain and establishing receival sites at Willyung and Drome.
The proposed canola crushing facility will be located at the Drome site, which is serviced by the Mirambeena spur rail line.
It will have capacity to crush up to one million tonnes of canola annually, which would make it the largest such facility in Australia.
Pending planning and regulatory approvals, the plant could be operational by 2031.
The capital raising comes after agribusiness giants Cargill and GrainCorp floated plans for an oilseed (aka canola) crushing plant in WA, with both having a price tag of some $500 million.
Cargill has an option over a parcel of land at Kwinana adjacent to CBH's grain export terminal while GrainCorp has said it is evaluating sites in WA and Queensland.
However, there has been no news on either project for the past year.
Canola production in WA has grown substantially, with the 2025 harvest forecast at 3.8 million tonnes, according to the Grain Industry Association of WA.
The Albany port region is expected to contribute 1.25 million tonnes, just behind the Kwinana port zone at 1.35 million tonnes.
Processing capacity is only about 60,000 tonnes, primarily at GrainCorp’s Pinjarra plant and Aus Oils’ Kojonup facility.
The proposed facility will produce oil and meal, with the meal to be pelletized for use as livestock feed or for export.
The project includes an adjacent plant to convert agricultural waste into biochar, which provides an alternative to synthetic fertilizers.
Excess heat from the biochar plant would help to power the canola plant.
IAG sees potential to expand into the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.
Mr Gullotti previously co-founded New Energy, which played a key early role in the development of the East Rockingham Waste to Energy facility.
The Rockingham facility is designed to convert 300,000 tonnes of municipal waste annually into electricity.
