Advanced BioFuels USA

(Defense Innovation Unit)  The Department of Defense (DoD) spends significant time and resources managing worldwide aircraft fuel logistics, which often involves a combination of tanker planes, ships, and convoys.. To reduce this logistical burden, DoD seeks a commercial solution to develop a carbon-neutral synthetic aviation fuel that can be produced on-site at fixed bases as well as remote forward operating locations. The ideal synthetic aviation fuel solution is capable of leveraging a variety of locally-available feedstocks, such as air or seawater, in a small, mobile form-factor that enables agile basing concepts. This fuel will need to be produced, initially at small scale, and subsequently validated by both the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Service fuel agencies (as a 100% drop-in fuel for the Joint Force, adaptable to existing fleets). This validation is in preparation for final certification via the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).

Project Details

The DoD seeks to validate and streamline the certification of small-batch, non-biomass synthetic aviation fuel that includes the following capabilities: 

• Process Development:
  • Process for non-biomass feedstock synthetic fuel that, when paired with a carbon-neutral energy source, could be scaled to operate independently in contested environments.
  • Compatibility with carbon-neutral energy sources must be demonstrated but not necessarily be scalable at this time. Competitive concepts should be efficient and scalable for an output of 2,000 gallons per day at remote operating locations.
  • Product should be a 100% drop-in fuel capable of meeting Jet A/JP-8/JP-5 performance metrics (reference ASTM D1655/MIL-DTL-83133), requiring no blending or additization with extraneous product streams. Interim product markets within DoD will include blended fuels.
  • Process description and digital concepts to scale.
• Fuel Production:
  • The DoD is amenable to any novel synthesis processes that would lead to the long-term objectives of contested environment applications. 
  • Sufficient fuel volumes to complete laboratory specification testing, and follow-on flight demonstration in small UAS.
  • Delivery to AFRL/AFPET of Synthetic Fuel for specification testing to Jet A/JP-8/JP-5 chemical/physical properties and performance metrics (reference ASTM D1655/MIL-DTL-83133).
  • This Area of Interest includes carbon capture/conversion, hydrogen generation, fuel synthesis, hydrocarbon separation and recycling, and fully integrated solutions. Representative components that the DoD conceives include, but are not limited to:
    • Carbon capture from air or other devices to generate CO2
    • Process to generate hydrogen from water (pure or impure), seawater, or air
    • Reactor to generate CO and H2 from CO2 and H2O, if required
    • Reactor to generate long-chain hydrocarbons (could be same reactor as above)
    • Reactor to synthesize ASTM/MIL-SPEC certifiable turbine aviation fuels from hydrogen and carbon feedstocks
    • Process flow diagrams for small-scale production

Submission Requirements 

Submissions should include an overview and technical details of the proposed solution. Inclusion of examples of the successful deployment of similar solutions in the commercial or public sectors is highly encouraged. 

Preference will be given to submissions that present a comprehensive and compelling solution to the problem statement and product requirements. Proposals should identify whether the submitter will employ subcontractors and, if so, which companies would deliver which capabilities.  READ MORE