"The goals of the 21st Century Truck Program become more achievable when synthetic fuels are used in lieu of conventional fuels," stated Syntroleum’s M. Agee, as the United States Army’s National Automotive Center unveiled its SmarTruck at the Society of Automotive Engineers’ International World Congress and Exposition, held in Detroit, Michigan, in March.
The SmarTruck was developed by the United States Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command, under the federal 21st Century Truck Initiative. Program partners in the Initiative, which was announced last year, include the Army, the United States Departments of Energy and Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States truck industry. For the past 2 years, Syntroleum has been providing synthetic fuels to a number of military, automobile manufacturers and fuel cell company testing programs for the purpose of demonstrating the benefits of synthetic fuels and their ability to operate across multiple power-train technologies.
The 10-year goal of the 21st Century Truck program is to develop technologies that will increase fuel economy and safety in four specific classes of commercial trucks and buses, leading to production prototypes that:
Priorities for the program include development of advanced propulsion technology, with focus on advanced diesel engine, hybrid electric, fuel cell and advanced drive-trains, and clean burning fuels that are adaptable to the full range of propulsion sources.
Because Syntroleum’s synthetic fuels are virtually free of sulfur, aromatics and metals, they inherently reduce harmful emissions. They also enable exhaust aftertreatment devices that can reduce emissions of nitrogen and sulfur oxides and particulates, to the target levels anticipated for 2010 regulations. The high hydrogen density of the synthetic fuels also makes them useful for fuel cell systems. The ability to use the same fuel in internal combustion engines as well as fuel cells satisfies another major objective of the 21st Century Initiative program.
Synthetic fuels’ ability to be "power-train neutral" may also play an important role in military applications. The military has been investigating the possibility of standardizing a "single battlefield fuel," so that the same fuel that can be used in turbine engines of jets, tanks and helicopters, as well as in diesel engines of trucks and in fuel cell systems that are expected to be found on the battlefield of the future. About 70 percent of the bulk tonnage needed to sustain the military during a conflict is fuel. Using a single fuel would simplify logistics and reduce total tonnage moved. The fuel must also meet military safety requirements for flammability. Recent tests on Syntroleum fuels indicate that synthetic fuels can meet all of these requirements.
"We believe that the 21st Century Truck Program is going to have a big impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of not only the United States military, but on United States industry as well," stated Agee. "Over 80 percent of the nation’s freight is moved by trucks that consume over 42 billion gallons of fuel each year. Since the 1973 oil embargo, essentially all of the increase in United States highway fuel consumption has been due to trucks. So improvements in fuel economy and emissions in this vital industry will pay substantial dividends to the United States economy."
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