Navy to fly jets fueled by algae, oilseed crop

The U.S. Navy plans to fly fighter jets and run ship engines powered by “biofuels” made from algae and oilseeds—part of a fledgling effort to reduce the military’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.

For the last several years, the military has conducted test flights using synthetic jet fuels derived from coal and natural gas.

Now the effort is being expanded to include fuels from algae and the oilseed crop camelina, which is grown primarily in arid parts of Montana.
Military biofuels contracts worth more than $11 million were awarded recently to Solazyme of San Francisco and Sustainable Oils of Bozeman, Mont.

Solazyme will produce 20,000 gallons of ship fuel made from algae and Sustainable Oils will produce 40,000 gallons of camelina-based jet fuel.

“These are probably the tip of the iceberg in terms of future procurements,” said Frank Pane, director of energy plans and programs at the Defense Energy Support Center at Fort Belvoir, Va. “There’s great interest within the (Defense) Department in alternative fuels and renewable energy.”

The potential of the military market is huge: Last year, Pane’s agency bought 95 million barrels of jet fuel and more than 23 million barrels of fuel for ships.

Mercury News