In 2003 the directors of PRE, who were the primary founders of The Australian Biodiesel Group Limited, began their search for a sustainable replacement for used cooking oil and Tallow which are currently used for biodiesel production in Australia. Their search ended on finding Pongamia Pinnata and visiting the fledgling Pongamia oil industry in India. They followed up this with a search for viable Australian native trees and then in the formation of Pacific Renewable Energy in January 2006. After learning the high variability of seed grown trees, they talked to Professor Peter Gresshoff of the University of Queensland's legume research division.