Technology Business Partner - Commercial Fuels

Soul Origin to double store network to 400 locations over 10 years. Fast-casual chain Soul Origin plans to more than double its store network to approximately 400 locations globally over the next 10 years. The company, which marks its 15th anniversary this year, has grown into a network of 178 locations with around 22 million customer visits each year. Opening 15 to 20 stores annually across Australia, New Zealand and additional international markets will drive the expansion. Shifting out of the food court. Alongside continued growth in shopping centres, Soul Origin will add more regional, drive-through, airport, hospital, university and service-centre locations. Six new stores are scheduled to open before Christmas, including a new company-owned flagship at Sydney International Airport. Highway retailing forms a central pillar of the push. Soul Origin operates a hybrid service-centre format in partnership with fuel retailer Ampol, with two additional co-located sites scheduled to open before the end of the year. The business is scouting further roadside and regional plots across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Trans-Tasman growth and extended trading. New Zealand represents the immediate cross-border priority. The company currently runs four stores across the country and has mapped out approximately 10 additional openings there over the next two years. Longer operating hours in roadside and transit hubs require a wider menu. Kitchens across the network are rolling out hot dinner items, matcha drinks and expanded iced beverage selections. Soul Origin is also taking side dishes and add-ons first tested in its drive-through prototypes and adding them to traditional metro counters. Franchise pressures and highway formats. Transitioning from enclosed shopping mall food courts into roadside and transit locations alters the underlying store economics. Food court units rely on captive foot traffic with heavy daytime peaks, whereas highway service centres and airport terminals demand split-shift staffing, higher capital expenditure for kitchen fit-outs and steady evening volume to recover rent. Competing quick-service operators across Australia and the wider region have pursued identical fuel-convenience partnerships to escape rising mall occupancy costs. For Soul Origin, sustaining average transaction values during afternoon and dinner trading will determine whether these extended-hour formats generate acceptable returns for franchise partners. Management transition at fifteen years. The expansion plan arrives as the company marks 15 years since its founding as a single family-run food outlet. Current chief financial officer George Gebran will step into the chief executive role on October 1 to manage the operational expansion. Co-founder and current managing director Hao Quach will step down from day-to-day management on the same date. Quach will remain with the business to focus on long-term strategy, market entry and corporate development. Network development will center on the delivery of the six pre-Christmas openings, the performance of the new Sydney Airport terminal site, and the execution of the 10-store pipeline planned for New Zealand through 2028. Questions & answers. Q. What is the expected growth rate per year to achieve the target of 400 locations? A. The company plans to open 15 to 20 stores annually across Australia, New Zealand, and other international markets to reach its network goal. Q. What types of new locations will Soul Origin be expanding into beyond shopping centres? Q. How will the company adapt its menu for the new roadside and transit hub locations? Q. What change is happening in the company's leadership team as the expansion plan begins? Reader pulse Soul Origin's expansion strategy? 22,742 votes so far

Toyota targets fleet emissions with renewable diesel. Toyota Australia has confirmed that diesel-powered HiLux models built from mid-2015 can operate on 100 per cent hydrotreated vegetable oil, giving fleet operators another potential pathway to reduce lifecycle emissions without replacing existing vehicles. The announcement covers HiLux models equipped with Toyota's 1GD and 2GD turbo-diesel engines. With more than half a million N80 and N90-generation HiLux vehicles currently on Australian roads, Toyota believes low-carbon liquid fuels could play a significant role in reducing emissions from the existing vehicle fleet. Toyota and Ampol are currently trialling HVO100, a renewable diesel alternative that can be used without blending conventional diesel. For fleet managers, particularly those operating utilities, local government, infrastructure, mining and regional fleets, the announcement is significant because it offers the potential to lower emissions while continuing to use vehicles already in service. Decarbonising the existing fleet. While much of the fleet decarbonisation conversation has focused on replacing internal combustion vehicles with battery-electric models, Toyota is positioning low-carbon liquid fuels as another part of its multi-pathway strategy. Toyota says all of its existing diesel models are already capable of operating on a blend containing up to 20 per cent low-carbon liquid fuel, while it is studying the expansion of HVO100 compatibility to additional models. Toyota Motor Corporation Australia President and CEO Matthew Callachor said practical choices would be important as Australia moves towards lower-emission transport. "At Toyota, we believe decarbonisation requires a multi-pathway approach that gives customers practical choices while supporting Australia's transition to a lower-emissions future," Callachor said. "The confirmation that HiLux models from 2015 onwards can run on 100 per cent hydrotreated vegetable oil is validation that the vehicle technology exists today." For fleets with long replacement cycles, the ability to reduce the lifecycle emissions of vehicles already operating could become particularly important. It may allow organisations to make progress against emissions targets without waiting for every vehicle to reach its scheduled replacement date. Regional fleets remain a key challenge. Toyota is also highlighting the potential role of renewable fuels in applications where battery-electric vehicles may not yet meet operational requirements. The company says low-carbon liquid fuels can retain the towing capability, driving range, performance and practicality associated with diesel vehicles, making them particularly relevant for regional and remote operations. That could make HVO particularly relevant for fleets with vehicles travelling long distances, towing equipment or operating away from established charging infrastructure. Toyota recently demonstrated that capability by completing an approximately 3,000km journey through regional Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in a HiLux powered by HVO100 as part of the National Bush Summit. What is HVO100? Hydrotreated vegetable oil can be produced from renewable feedstocks including vegetable oils and recycled cooking oils. Toyota says HVO100 has a higher cetane number than conventional fossil diesel, providing improved ignition quality and more stable combustion, while also containing substantially lower levels of sulphur and aromatics. However, availability will be critical if renewable diesel is to become a meaningful option for Australian fleets. Toyota has welcomed moves to establish a domestic low-carbon liquid fuels industry, including Ampol's proposed Brisbane Renewable Fuels project being explored with GrainCorp and IFM Investors. The company argues domestic production could help support regional industries, improve fuel security and increase the availability of lower-emission fuels. For fleet operators, HVO100 is unlikely to replace the need to assess battery-electric and other zero-emission vehicles. Instead, it could give organisations another option for reducing emissions across vehicle categories where replacement technologies, charging infrastructure or operational requirements remain challenging. The development also broadens the fleet decarbonisation discussion beyond what vehicle to buy next - and towards what can be done with the thousands of diesel vehicles already sitting in Australian fleet depots.

Billionaire prepared to put his own money into $15b oil refinery. Updated Sep 2, 2026 - 4.18pm, first published at 3.32pm The billionaire assessing whether Australia should build its first oil refinery in six decades says he will put his own cash into the potential $15 billion project, despite international oil majors dismissing local refining as unviable. Vikas Rambal, the Indian-born founder and chairman of industrial manufacturer Perdaman Global Services, said a facility could be profitable in Australia if built to sufficient scale, bucking the trend of refinery closures over the past decade as they struggled to compete with cheaper imports. "Absolutely we'll put our money in. We are not a consultant, we are a manufacturer," said Rambal. "I was approached by the [WA] premier and the prime minister [to assess a possible new refinery] because of my background, I said yes, it's possible, but we have to think large scale so that we can compete." Eight oil refineries have been closed across Australia over the past 20 years, leaving just two in operation: Viva Energy's plant in Geelong and Ampol's Lytton refinery in Brisbane. Western Australia has no refining capacity after oil major BP closed its Kwinana plant near Perth in 2021. The nation relies heavily on imports from areas such as South-East Asia and the Middle East - an arrangement that exposed the precarious nature of Australia's fuel supply chain when the conflict between the United States and Iran led to the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route being blocked. Viva and Ampol have struggled to turn a profit at their refineries for many years, but the Middle East conflict has sparked a major reversal in their fortunes. Operating profit at Ampol's Lytton facility rocketed to $533 million in the year to June 30, up from $1.1 million in the prior year, while underlying earnings at Viva's Geelong plant rose to $354 million from $18 million. The Albanese government in July asked Perdaman to investigate the feasibility of building a new refinery in WA, sparking criticism from green groups who believe it would encourage the wider use of fossil fuels. Business leaders also questioned its economic viability given an expected $10 billion to $15 billion construction price tag. "We want the refinery to be bankable," said Rambal, adding that any new refinery would most likely be backed by a mix of public and private funding. "This is a national project. It will look after Australia. There will definitely be [financial] input from the federal government, the state government... The cost of production will come down when you put in a world-scale refinery. "Should we have this refinery? It is a must. In the next era of uncertainty, we should have fuel security for this country." Rambal acknowledged that the project would not stack up without state support, but also expects to field interest from potential partners in the private sector. Privately owned Perdaman is due to deliver a feasibility study into the new refinery to the government in early 2027, with the Albanese government contributing $4 million to the cost. Rambal was speaking at the group's $6.4 billion Ceres fertiliser plant in WA's Pilbara, which is 85 per cent completed. Using a desalination plant and gas from energy giant Woodside's nearby North West Shelf operations, the fertiliser plant will produce 2.3 million tonnes of urea annually - more than half of Australia's annual consumption. Ceres will bolster the security of Australia's fertiliser supply after it was threatened by the Strait of Hormuz blockage. About a quarter of global seaborne trade in the key agricultural product passes through the channel. Perdaman has agreed to a 20-year gas supply deal with Woodside and a 20-year offtake agreement with Macquarie. The project is backed by $475 million in federal government loans. Rambal said at least a million tonnes of Ceres' annual urea production was earmarked for Australian farmers, as well as incentives for buyer Macquarie to sell the remaining output locally.