Licella has been named the winner of the Resources & Energy category at the Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders Awards 2026, recognising the company’s leadership in low-carbon fuels and advanced recycling.
Presented in partnership with BDO, the AFR Sustainability Leaders program recognises innovations that deliver measurable sustainability outcomes, long-term value creation and impact beyond organisational boundaries. Winners are selected through an independent assessment process evaluating innovation, evidence, scalability and real-world impact.
Licella received the award for its proprietary Cat-HTR™ platform, which converts underutilised biomass and end-of-life plastics into valuable low-carbon fuels and circular materials, helping tackle some of the toughest decarbonisation challenges across transport, industry and waste management.
“This award is a powerful endorsement of the work our team has undertaken over more than 17 years to develop, scale and commercialise breakthrough technology solutions,” said Dr Len Humphreys, Licella Chief Executive Officer.
“We are honoured to be recognised by the AFR Sustainability Leaders program for an innovation that demonstrates sustainability and economic value can go hand in hand. Our focus has always been on delivering practical, commercially viable solutions capable of achieving meaningful impact at scale.”
“As Australia looks to strengthen fuel security and decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation, marine transport and heavy industry, technologies that convert domestic biomass residues into low-carbon fuels have an increasingly important role to play.”
Licella’s technology has attracted global partners including Shell and Mitsubishi Chemical, with commercial deployments and projects spanning Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea. The company’s approach combines feedstock flexibility and scalability, unlocking pathways to low-cost low-carbon fuels and circular plastics, while reducing reliance on fossil resources and creating value from underutilised waste streams.
The independent award recognises Australian innovation delivering global impact through the transformation of fuel, chemicals and recycling industries. Licella’s technology supports decarbonisation, resource circularity and energy resilience by converting underutilised waste streams into low-carbon fuels and circular materials.
“As an Australian innovator, we are proud to see technology developed here creating impact both locally and internationally,” said Dr Humphreys.
“This recognition belongs to our employees, partners, investors and stakeholders who have supported the development of our Cat-HTR™ platform over many years. Together, we are demonstrating that Australian-developed technologies can be successfully scaled and deployed to create global impact.”
Read the media release here: 20260903-Licella-media-release-AFR-Sustainability-Leaders-List-2026-Final.pdf