Contract with Air Company Could Eventually Provide Self-Contained, Portable SAF Production at Forward Bases

The Defense Innovation Unit has started an effort to provide small-scale, mobile, quickly deployable fuel production under their Project SynCE.

The program, short for 'Synthetic Fuels for the Contested Environment', aims to provide military operations with a resilient, configurable solution to fueling in denied environments. 

The DIU, along with the Air Force, the Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund, the Department of Energy, and the US Army's Office of the Chief of Engineers has awarded a contract for up to $65 million to Air Company. The award funds Project SynCE in order to create fuel from atmospheric carbon dioxide, mimicking the mechanics of plant-like photosynthesis to convert CO2 from sustainable feedstocks into SAF.

"The ideal SAF," the DIU notes, "is capable of leveraging a variety of locally-available CO2 feedstocks, sourced from air or seawater in a small, mobile form-factor that will enable agile basing concepts around the world." A portable fuel solution would grant forward-deployed units greater mission flexibility with on-demand SAF, all while reducing life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional jet fuel.

"We have an incredible opportunity to reduce our burden on global energy supply chains, and simultaneously reduce emissions, without sacrificing mission effectiveness," said USAF Lieutenant Colonel Nicole Pearl, Project SynCE Operational Lead. "By developing and deploying on-site fuel production technology, our Joint Force will be more resilient and sustainable. Together with the DoE and the commercial industry, we're working towards revolutionary energy solutions that benefit not just the military, but our society as a whole."

FMI: www.diu.mil