Science Watch: US Navy Cracks New Renewable Energy Technology

Science Watch: US Navy Cracks New Renewable Energy Technology

As the video above shows, the United States Navy has developed a technology which converts seawater into fuel. According to IBT, this is a game changer:

The development of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel could one day relieve the military’s dependence on oil-based fuels and is being heralded as a “game changer” because it could allow military ships to develop their own fuel and stay operational 100 percent of the time, rather than having to refuel at sea.

At the same time, this would prevent the United States from being vulnerable to energy shocks. As the article states:

“We don’t necessarily go to a gas station to get our fuel. Our gas station comes to us in terms of an oiler, a replenishment ship. Developing a game-changing technology like this, seawater to fuel really is something that reinvents a lot of the way we can do business when you think about logistics, readiness.”

As the Huffington Post notes:

“Basically, we’ve treated energy like air, something that’s always there and that we don’t worry about too much. But the reality is that we do have to worry about it,”

According to CNBC, The Navy operates almost 300 vessels, but all but 72 submarines and a handful of aircraft carriers are powered by fuel derived from oil.

Sounds like an exciting development. Would this bring the United States completely energy independent? I personally doubt it. However, I am impressed with the possibilities this technology would bring.