Seawater to Fuel for Unmanned Vessels

The seawater to fuel for unmanned vessels (UXV) project examines the efficiency of producing fuel at sea to support UXVs. Using a sea based fuel production would offer the Navy significant logistical and operational advantages by reducing dependence on increasingly expensive fossil fuels and by reducing fuel logistic trails and their vulnerabilities resulting from unprotected fuel delivery while out at sea. Furthermore, it would increase the average time between refueling of the UXVs. There is new technological research in process to meet future energy demands using a renewable energy source for sea-based fuel operations, such as solar, wave, or wind power. Currently technology exists to produce hydrocarbon fuel on land using the Fischer-Tropsch process and coal as its primary energy source. This process uses the carbon dioxide that is extracted by electrolysis, from seawater as a carbon feedstock that is then catalytically reacted with hydrogen to produce hydrocarbon fuel. This project entails researching practical technologies for sea-based operation that will produce enough fuel to refuel the UXVs and support their missions.