U.S. military mandate for diesel and jet fuel from renewable sources highlights UND-EERC-Accelergy partnership

Accelergy Corporation, a global leader in the production of high-value domestically sourced liquid fuels, is partnering with the UND Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC). Under the terms of the agreement, Accelergy will license EERC’s proprietary technology as part of its coal biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) process to accelerate the development of specialty liquid jet fuels used by the military from cleaner and non-petroleum sources.
 
This news follows a recent $4.7 million contract between the EERC and the U.S. Department of Defense Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the development of the first completely renewable JP-8 jet fuel. The U.S. Air Force uses JP-8 in all its aircraft and has been researching alternative sources to petroleum-based fuels following a mandate to procure 50 percent of its fuel domestically and from greener sources. 
 
“This partnership is good news for North Dakota and another Red River Valley Research Corridor success story,” said Senator Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. “I’ve worked vigorously to help the EERC develop into a world-class research center. Clearly, the EERC’s cutting-edge capabilities are now in high demand.”
 
“For decades, the EERC has been dedicated to creating cost-effective environmental solutions for our country’s energy challenges, and we have long recognized that smart public-private sector partnerships are key to commercializing promising technologies,” said Gerald H. Groenewold, director of the EERC. “We believe Accelergy’s integrated production process is paramount to the rapid adoption of domestically produced specialty fuels, and we fully expect to help drive this endeavor forward with our technology.”
 
With the capabilities to produce a cleaner, non-petroleum based fuel that exceeds JP-8 specs, Accelergy utilizes proprietary micro-catalytic conversion technologies licensed from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company. Accelergy’s integrated CBTL process domestically produces a tunable range of low net-carbon fuels including premium gasoline, diesel, Jet-A, and military JP-5, JP-8, and JP-9 jet fuels. The CBTL process is unique in its ability to maintain a high overall thermal efficiency while significantly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with comparable refining methods.
 
“Partnering with a demonstrated leader in clean energy research and technology uniquely positions Accelergy to domestically produce high volumes of cleaner fuels to meet ever-increasing needs for our nation’s military aircraft,” said Tim Vail, CEO of Accelergy. “As global demand for transportation fuel grows, EERC’s scalable, feedstock-flexible process provides a crucial element to our hybrid process, enabling cost-effective, next-generation liquid fuels.”