Highlights Bio-Fuels Capability

Navy Demonstration Highlights Bio-Fuels Capability

Oct. 25, 2010 – The U.S. Navy last week conducted a demonstration here featuring an experimental riverine command boat which uses an alternative fuel blend of 50 percent algae-based and 50 percent NATO F-76 fuel oil.

The demonstration is part of an initiative to support Navy Secretary Ray Mabus' efforts to reduce the fleet's reliance on fossil fuels and is part of a series of progressively complex tests and evaluations scheduled through 2012.

Rear Adm. Philip Cullom, Chief of Naval Operations' director of energy and environmental readiness, which leads the Navy's Task Force Energy, said the demonstration was a historic step on the road toward energy independence for the Navy.

"What you've seen today is a mean, green riverine machine," Cullom said. "This demonstration is a great example of the fleet answering the Secretary of the Navy’s call. He told us a year ago that by 2020 half of our platforms at sea would be operating on an alternative fuel other than petroleum. We made an important step toward that goal today."

The initiative toward a Navy running on alternative fuels is multi-purpose, the admiral said. {read rest}