The Air Force’s alternative fuels certification effort is on hold and “may go away” if the service doesn’t find more money to continue research.
“We have run out of funding and the Air Force has not provided additional funding,” Jeff Braun, Air Force Alternative Fuels Certification Division (AFCD) chief, told Defense Daily in a Dec. 12 interview. “The Air Force’s overall fuel certification effort is kind of on hold and it may go away if funding is not identified.”
Braun said his office has pursued additional funds since this summer and has yet to be “plussed up at all.” Braun also said his office is being drawn down and he has a lost a lot of his resources.
“The Air Force continues to fund the sciences and technology (S&T) aspects, the laboratory aspects of research,” Braun said. “But, as of right now, it looks like the actual certification process will be put on hold or just stopped temporarily at least.”
Air Force spokesman Ted Theopolos said yesterday the AFCD, which is based at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, will stop operating March 1 if no additional funds are allocated. Theopolos said the Air Force is currently reviewing the AFCD’s request for additional funding, but due to looming Defense Department budget tightening, it is unknown if any level of funding will be made available.
Theopolos said while the absence of additional funding will result in the loss of Air Force alternative fuel capability, any level of supplemental funding will allow the AFCD to continue its mission, albeit on a reduced, or slower, scale. Theopolos added that the majority of assigned experienced personnel at the AFCD have been re-assigned to other duties.
One effort that would be put on hold is the Air Force’s nascent voyage into an alternative fuel, or biofuel, known as Alcohol-to-Jet (ATJ). ATJ is a cellulosic-based fuel that can be derived using wood, paper, grass or anything that is a cell-based material, according to an Air Force statement. The sugars extracted from these materials are fermented into alcohols, which are then hydro-processed into the aviation-grade kerosene used for aviation fuel. The Air Force June 28 flew its first aircraft, an A-10, on a 50/50 blend of JP-8 and ATJ.
Theopolos estimated the cost to complete ATJ certification at approximately $21 million.
Braun also said because of the abundant sources that can be used for ATJ, it has huge potential over HRJ.
“The thing with ATJ is when you look at the available feed stock to make the biobutenol and ethanol and stuff, it’s very abundant,” Braun said. “The potential for large scale production is significantly increased over the previous biofuel, the HRJ.”
The Air Force has spent a substantial amount of money over the years developing alternative fuels that can be “dropped-in,” or used in any Air Force jet without modifying engines for use. DoD has also encouraged this as a way of weaning the services off of traditional, petroleum-based fossil fuels that are often obtained from adversaries of the United States. Braun said the Air Force just certified Hydrotreated Renewable Jet (HRJ) fuel to be used as a 50/50 blend with traditional petroleum, or JP-8, in all jets fleet-wide. Braun also said the Air Force just tested HRJ in the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter engine in the “June/July” timeframe and saw no problems with it.
Braun said the Air Force was doing other lab-type tests with ATJ, looking at some combustor rig tests and other studies, but those were halted due to a lack of funds. Braun also said the Air Force was working with the Army and Navy with ATJ where each service would take responsibility for one aspect of ATJ certification, but that has also stopped on the Air Force’s end.
Alternative fuels still remain significantly more expensive than traditional petroleum-based fossil fuels, though as development progresses, costs fall. Braun said the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), which purchases DoD’s supplies and services, can buy traditional JP-8 for about three dollars or $3.50 per gallon. Braun said he believes the last time the Navy purchased HRJ, it cost $15 per gallon. Braun said when the Navy first purchased HRJ it cost $65 per gallon. Braun said the Air Force last paid $60 or $65/gallon for ATJ. Calls to DLA for most recent purchases and prices were not returned by press time.
The Navy is also heavily invested in its biofuels effort, which has drawn criticism from members of Congress for its hefty pricetag. At a March 15 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) lamented that in 2008, the Navy paid $424 per gallon for 20,000 gallons of biodiesel made from algae (Defense Daily, May 29).