US Navy sails 12,000 miles on algae biofuel

PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 17, 2011) The decommissioned Spruance-class destroyer ex-Paul F. Foster (EDD 964) conducts a successful demonstration of shipboard alternative fuel use while underway in the Pacific Ocean on a 50-50 blend of an algae-derived, hydro-processed algal oil and petroleum F-76.
Paul F. Foster has been reconfigured as the Self-Defense Test Ship to provide the Navy an at-sea, remotely controlled, engineering test and evaluation platform without the risk to personnel or operational assets.
(U.S. Navy video/Released)

From EnergyDigital

Launching its largest alternative fuel test in history, the US Navy's first biofuel powered ship completed a successful trip along California's coast this week.
Next year, the Navy plans to unveil a number of small ships, destroyers, cruisers, aircraft, submarines and a carrier all running on alternative fuels.
It will then deploy a “Great Green Fleet” of nuclear vessels, hybrid electric ships and other biofuel-powered aircraft by 2016.

The first tested ship ran on 20,000 gallons of algae-based fuel in a 17-hour trip from San Diego to Port Hueneme this Wednesday—a great sign for more to come.
The blend used consisted of a 50-50 mix of petroleum and a hydro-processed algal oil, produced from Solazyme in San Francisco.
But the Navy is working with many other companies as well with a wide ranging variety of alternative fuel options, all competing to win supplier bids with the Department of Energy's largest oil consumer.

With over $500 million invested in the biofuels industry, the Navy hopes to cut its use of fossil fuels in half over the next decade, according to Cmdr. James Goudreau, director of the Navy Energy Coordination Office.

“This demo, the largest to date, is a major milestone for us. More than 50 percent of our fuel goes to maritime use,” Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel told the Navy Times.
“When this ship arrives in Port Hueneme, we will be a giant step closer to powering our Great Green Fleet and demonstrating progress toward a sustainable energy future."

NSWC Port Hueneme’s Self Defense Test Ship, ex-USS Paul F. Foster (EDD 964), transits the Pacific Ocean to conduct a test of an alternative fuel blend made of 50 percent hydro-processed algae oil and 50 percent F-76 petroleum on Nov. 17

Shortly after the ship docked, the Navy reported that the alternative fuel burned just like tradition fuel in the same engines, observing no difference in the ship's operations. Operationally, the Navy's largest demonstration of shipboard alternative fuel use was a huge success, reaffirming its overall energy strategy to increase energy security and protect the environment.

In addition to the Navy's largest-scale alternative fuel demo last November, the U.S. Navy Frigate fleet ship USS Ford just completed a trip from Everett, Wash., down to San Diego in a second demonstration running on the same biofuel.

Using some 25,000 gallons of Solazyme's Soladiesel blended in even proportions with F-76 military diesel, the ship completed a trip of an estimated 1,228 nautical miles, according to charts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The second successful tour comes after reports from November's biofuel test, in which it was reported that “there was absolutely no difference, whatsoever, in the operation or performance of the ship” using the algae-based fuel.
According to Solayzme, the longer voyage from Washington portrayed similar results.

"Feedback from the ship's engineers was favorable; the crew reported that operational performance of the fuel system and gas turbine engines on the 50/50 blend was...comparable to operations on traditional petroleum F-76," Solazyme confirmed in a statement.

By 2016, the Navy has a set goal of deploying a “Great Green Fleet” powered entirely by alternative fuels in addition to reaching 50 percent alternative energy use overall by 2020.

Of the two biggest players in the Navy's biofuels program are San Francisco based Solazyme, providing algae-based biofuel, and Louisiana-based Dynamic Fuels, providing fuel from used cooking oil and non-food grade animal fats.

Links :

• Energy.gov : Fueling the Navy's great green fleet with advanced biofuels