US Navy Seeks Australian Cane and Grain Biofuels to Help Power Its Fleet

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August 24, 2015

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by Marty McCarthy and Arlie Felton-Taylor (ABC Rural) Could Australian agriculture help to literally fuel the United States Navy’s expansion in the Asia-Pacific? — That is the question a Queensland researcher is trying to answer, as the US moves towards powering its navy war craft with a biofuel blend by 2020.

“I was over in the Pentagon a month ago to talk about how we could make some fuels in Australia to help their missions,” Dr Ian O’Hara from Queensland University of Technology said.

Dr O’Hara said the US Navy has taken an interest in Australian sugarcane, and grains like sorghum, to help power its ships and plans.

“Queensland is certainly a great place for the US Navy. They already come here for missions and we are a friendly port,” he said.

“They are very keen to have refuelling stations in Australia, so as part of this project we are working on these challenges.

Dr O’Hara recently received a $4.5 million grant from the Federal Government to investigate ways Australian crop waste can be used in this process.

“While you can certainly produce ethanol from some of the waste products, there is more value if you can create strategic [high value] fuels,” he said.

“These might have military applications for things like helicopters or naval vessels.” READ MORE includes AUDIO

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