Alternative Fuels for Military Applications

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Bartis | Lawrence Van Bibber Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release; distribution unlimited NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract W74V8H-06-C-0002. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication. ISBN 978-0-8330-5000-7 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. Cover photo by Tom Reynolds: X-35A Joint Strike Fighter being refueled by a KC-135 tanker. © Copyright 2011 RAND Corporation Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND permissions page (http://www.rand.org/ publications/permissions.html). Published 2011 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: [email protected] Preface Over the past few years, the U.S. Department of Defense has spent hundreds of mil- lions of dollars on the development, testing, and certification of alternative fuels that can substitute for petroleum-derived fuels used by the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force in their tactical weapon systems. This monograph summarizes research directed at understanding key policy, management, and technical issues associated with these efforts. This document is called for in the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 (P.L. 110-417). As called for in the act, this monograph includes a review of alternative approaches for reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions; an examination of the military utility of mobile, in-theater syn- thetic fuel processes; and a review of the goals and progress of the military departments in the research, testing, and certification of alternative fuels. This monograph is intended for delivery to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees. Beyond federal officials who have responsibility for research and policymaking affecting transportation fuels, this monograph should be of interest to potential investors in alternative fuel technologies and production facilities. This research was sponsored by the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, and conducted within the Acquisition and Technology Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intel- ligence Community. The RAND research reported herein began in May 2009 and was completed in early 2010. For more information on RAND’s Acquisition and Technology Policy Center, contact the Director, Philip Antón. He can be reached by email at atpc-director@rand. org; by phone at 310-393-0411, extension 7798; or by mail at the RAND Corpora- tion, 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, California 90407-2138. More information about RAND is available at www.rand.org. iii Contents Preface ................................................................................................. iii Figures and Tables ...................................................................................vii Summary .............................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments .................................................................................. xxi Abbreviations ...................................................................................... xxiii CHAPTER ONE Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 Imported Oil and U.S. National Security ........................................................... 1 Study Scope ............................................................................................. 2 Study Approach ........................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER TWO Fuels for U.S. Military Operations ................................................................ 5 Critical Properties of Military Fuels ................................................................. 7 Candidate Alternative Fuels for Military Use ...................................................... 9 CHAPTER THREE Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions ............................................................17 Greenhouse Gas Management for Fischer-Tropsch Liquids .....................................18 Greenhouse Gas Management for Renewable Oils .............................................. 27 Alternative Fuel Production with Greenhouse-Gas-Free Power .................................31 CHAPTER FOUR Forward-Based Military Fuel Production .......................................................39 Local-Feedstock-Based Production ................................................................ 40 Liquid Fuels from Military Wastes................................................................. 42 Summary .............................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER FIVE Alternative Fuel Activities in the U.S. Department of Defense .............................45 Framing Our Examination ..........................................................................45 v vi Alternative Fuels for Military Applications Fuel Testing and Certification .......................................................................53 Developing Advanced Technology ..................................................................62 Promoting Commercial Production ................................................................67 CHAPTER SIX Industrial Preparedness ............................................................................71 Potential Alternative Fuel Demand by the U.S. Department of Defense ......................71 The Investment Climate for Military Alternative Fuel Production .............................72 Fischer-Tropsch Fuels .................................................................................73 Hydrotreated Renewable Oils .......................................................................76 CHAPTER SEVEN Findings and Recommendations ..................................................................81 APPENDIXES A. Public Law 110-417, Section 334 ............................................................. 87 B. Alternative Liquid Fuel Production with Hydrogen Addition ..........................89 C. DoD Organizations Contacted ................................................................95 References ............................................................................................ 97

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