Energy efficiency is key to defense modernization | Daily News Byte

It’s the perfect storm. America’s munitions stockpile has been depleted by the conflict in Ukraine, while we maintain a show of force in the Indo-Pacific region. Meanwhile, our platforms are aging and racing toward obsolescence. Climate change is accelerating the deterioration of the system, but it is also encouraging a rapid transition to newer, cleaner and more diverse forms of energy.

All these factors lead us to an obvious conclusion: Energy efficiency should be part of the defense modernization equation.

And the United States, in an unprecedented move in recent years, has put forward a very significant investment in our infrastructure of hundreds of billions of dollars through the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

But it’s not just significant – it’s multifaceted. From startups to multinational mega-corporations, we look at the rich, diverse set of companies that society is now calling upon to solve our energy sustainability problems. It’s the new gold rush, creating frenzied but much-needed excitement and interest in the public procurement market.

Our defense imperative — and capabilities

The Ministry of Defense is one of the world’s largest institutional consumers of energy; its annual expenditures are higher than entire countries, such as Sweden or Portugal. Because of our consumption, a key target for our adversaries is our energy grid. It is the most cyber-attacked framework in America. The Department of Defense’s National Defense Strategy includes the nation’s largest microgrid effort, building secure microgrids along a list of installation priorities.

According to Richard Kidd, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment and Energy Resiliency, “Energy is, in fact, a national security issue. … Climate change will affect the department in everything we do going forward. And, in fact, we are already experiencing the effects of climate change. We have it in three dimensions: operational requirements for forces…secondly, it affects our installations and infrastructure, it degrades our ability to conduct training…and finally, in terms of the effects on our personnel and equipment.”

In preparing for future conflicts, the Defense Department’s reliance on fossil fuel supplies could threaten its ability to generate forces, project power, and respond to crises. It is looking for ways to increase carbon-free energy production, move to zero-emission non-tactical vehicles, build resilient infrastructure and facilities, reduce water use, explore renewables and waste-to-energy technologies, and expand training and war games to adapt to and operate in an environment that has been altered by climate change.

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The Air Force — the Defense Department’s largest emissions branch — wants to improve operational intensity through drag-reducing technologies, modern planning software tools, improved engine maintenance and a pilot of sustainable jet fuel compatible with injection alongside pilot micro-reactors.

But wait: we have competition. China is now the largest producer of wind turbines, batteries and solar panels. It is aggressively moving into the energy management and energy control systems we need for the clean energy transition. However, it is a race we can certainly win.

The answer lies in technique

Many of today’s advanced clean energy technologies focused on early-stage research. Commercial industry is outpacing the defense industrial base in research and development as well as in prototyping. The defense industrial base must take advantage of these technologies to move them out of the laboratory and into real-world, large-scale demonstrations that will be implemented in our marketplace.

On the grid side, the Department of Defense should strongly consider considering large-scale, long-term energy storage such as massive battery banks or even something as advanced as hydrogen gas. Large carbon reduction projects could also involve new ways of producing energy. How to make a warfighter more self-sufficient and less dependent on carbon-based sources?

Commercial companies and other government agencies are already looking for answers. For example, Toyota currently has a car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. As the grid becomes more delicate due to the increasing addition of renewable but intermittent energy sources like solar and wind, why not more aggressively consider other sources of resilience — like hydrogen — to supplement an alternative form of backup power?

The Department of Energy is exploring hydrogen hubs, and the potential for use is fascinating. It is certainly a more efficient form of storage than lithium-ion batteries. Hydrogen is seen as a method for decarbonizing many carbon-intensive but difficult-to-reduce sectors, such as steel and cement production, and aviation is looking for renewable sources of synthetic fuel. Companies are investing in alternative fuel facilities and looking to waste streams, such as landfill waste gas, to extract hydrogen.

The question is: How do we choose the winning technologies? The United States’ substantial government investment in infrastructure attracts many diverse private sector interests, including foreign nations. How do we bring the value of our government contractor community to the table?

As an industry, we must play a key role as an interface that drives progress. Cooperation is a means; we can combine federal and private sector efforts to scale up and accelerate the energy transition — fuel progress and turn prototypes into large-scale solutions.

With ever-increasing geopolitical pressures and our national security at risk, we cannot afford to leave potential energy efficiency and modernization solutions on the table. This is an “all hands on deck” moment. Are we ready to make this a priority?

John Heller is the CEO of the American company Amentum.