Katunga energy project flops

Creating a fuel source which would replace fossil fuels. Using crops grown in northern Victoria’s agricultural sector. Harnessing new water delivery technology.

But AgBioEn has joined a number of other national alternative energy projects, and gone, belly up, leaving a trail of milllions of dollars in debts.

Launched in 2018, the project was spearheaded by AgBioEn director Lubey Lozevski, who hinted that the project could create a billion dollar business for northern Victoria, based around the 70 hectare property at Numurkah Rd, Katunga.

In a partnership with La Trobe University, the project installed soil monitoring sensors and grew a maize crop.

The project attracted interest from local members of parliament and former Moira Shire councillors, but it was never able to produce a litre of fuel, and no processing facility was ever built.

Meanwhile, AgBioEn was busy engaging in sponsorship deals with organisations like Golf Australia, the Kooyong Classic, and even a charitable event to support bushfire relief in 2020, featuring international singer Miley Cyrus.

A liquidator was appointed to the company in September 2022, and so far, the liquidator is examining a shortfall of about $10 million.

A meeting of creditors on June 16, 2023 decided to wind up the company.

Liquidator David Coyne from Melbourne company BRI Ferrier, said a former director, Charles Hunting, had been declared bankrupt and could not be located, but the remaining sole director, Lubey Lozevski, was co-operating.

The Katunga property, a former dairy farm, was taken over by the mortgagees and has since been sold.

Mr Coyne said his company was not able to find anyone interested in the intellectual property of the business and there was unlikely to be any money paid out to creditors.

The company was likely to be delisted before the end of the financial year.

This was how Mr Lozevski described AgBioEn in 2020:

“With a team of experts, and the latest industry knowledge, AgBioEn utilises world class technology to produce cleaner and greener renewable energy and liquid fuels, while ensuring the minimum carbon footprint along the way.”

Contacted by the Country News, Mr Lozevski acknowledged the company was in liquidation, but declined to explain what had happened, as proceedings were under way.

The project, a partnership between renewable energy company AgBioEn, La Trobe University and technology company LAB3, was expected to have grains grown for food, and their stalks and waste converted to renewable fuels.

The first trial maize crop utilised organic fertilisers including chicken litter, green waste and biochar, which improved yield and soil quality.

In 2020, Mr Lozevski said early indicators for the project were very promising.

“The organic fertilisers have already improved soil yield, reduced water use, and increased the amount of carbon captured in the soil — which is exactly what we hoped to achieve with these trials,” Mr Lozevski said.

The plan was for AgBioEn to buy, lease or share farms that would be part of a supply chain for growing food crops, such as maize, oaten hay, barley and wheat.

The grains were to be sold as food, while the crop residue was to be used to produce renewable energy and fuels at the Katunga facility.

The project had the support of La Trobe University Pro Vice-Chancellor (research capability) Professor Ashley Franks who said he was pleased the project was “already on the right track to delivering tangible outcomes for consumers across regional Victoria, and globally”.

Contacted about the failed project, La Trobe University senior lecturer in microbiology, Dr Jen Wood, said from 2020 to 2022, a team of researchers at La Trobe University conducted consultancy work with AgBioEn, focusing on soil management for drought resilience, crop productivity, and soil carbon capture.

“Follow-up glasshouse trials indicated that deep-placed organics improved plant water-use efficiency, with improvements linked to the abundance of key root-associated bacteria and plant hormone signalling.

“These findings provided critical insights into the mechanism by which deep soil amendments can support crop resilience during drought, which is vital for Australian agriculture.”

AgBioEn was described as Australia’s first fully integrated, carbon negative, renewable energy and fuels project.