Military fuel out of thin air to save the planet and millions of dollars

The US Air Force, the biggest single guzzler of fossil fuel in America, has taken a significant step forward in creating a different way of powering its huge inventory of aircraft by making jet fuel out of thin air. An energy company working with the air force has produced fuel, called E-Jet, by recycling carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air with water and renewable power sources. Experiments have proved that the jet fuel is operationally viable, opening up the potential for saving hundreds of millions of dollars – and helping to save the planet. The air force burns two billion gallons of aviation fuel a year and spends more than $8 billion annually for fuel of all types including petrol and diesel for vehicles. With global warming and climate change forcing the US military to find alternative ways of powering aircraft, warships, armoured vehicles and basic garrison energy supplies, all the services have been engaged in experiments for many years. The US Navy has a “green fleet” vision, with some warships already running on advanced biofuels. The latest announcement by the air force could have the biggest impact of all on reducing the American military’s carbon footprint once the synthetic carbon-neutral fuel is produced in sufficient quantities for world-wide operations. In a statement the air force says the plan is to have access to E-jet fuel anywhere on the planet, at any time and with no air or road tankers required. Synthetic fuels have been around for 100 years and are used in a mix-and-match combination with petroleum fuel in many US military aircraft. They were first created in 1925 by two German scientists, Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch, who converted carbon monoxide and hydrogen to make liquid hydrocarbons. However, these fuels were produced through burning coal, natural gas or biomass (plant or animal material). The American company, Twelve, based in Berkeley, California, has produced fossil-free jet fuel, using electrified CO2, and claims its E-Jet has more than 90 per cent lower life-cycle emissions than conventional jet fuel. “History has taught us that our logistics supply chains are one of the first things the enemy attacks. As peer adversaries pose more and more of a threat what we do to reduce our fuel and logsistics demand will be critical to avoid risk and win any potential war,” said Robert Guerrero, deputy assistant secretary of the air force for operational energy. Future challenges will include how to power the production of the synthetic fuel in remote areas and where water sources for the hydrogen will come from. The company says water can be captured from the air. “With carbon transformation [technology] we are untethering aviation from petroleum supply chains,” Nicholas Flanders, Twelve co-founder, said. Globally the aviation industry consumes 100 billion gallons of fossil fuels and emits one billion tons of carbon dioxide every year.