US Military Proceeds With Major Testing of Biofuels

With a detailed strategy that doesn’t utilize alternative fuels that compete with food — such as ethanol — the US military is launching a major initiative to test biofuels as power for its ships and planes.

Scientific American reports that this week, the Navy purchased 40,000 gallons of jet fuel derived from camelina — a weedy relative of canola — and 20,055 gallons of algae-derived diesellike fuel for ships.

The Navy is looking for as many fuels as possible, ranging from nuclear to biofuels — even seawater and algae.

It appears that the military is targeting America as a production source of much of the new biofuels. The camelina plants will be grown on 50,000 acres in Montana, owned by Sustainable Oils. The company also seels the camelina oil seeds, approved by the FDA as feed for broiler chickens.

via Scientific American Navy Green: Military Investigates Biofuels to Power Its Ships and Planes