Defense
Fuel Dependence as Operational Risk
Modern armed forces are among the world’s most fuel-intensive institutions. Fossil fuels power everything from vehicles and aircraft to field power generation. The US Department of Defense is the single largest institutional consumer of petroleum in the world.¹
The supply chain for NATO logistic fuel is complex, ranging from tanks and aircrafts to remote generators, and delivery costs vary dramatically by operational context. The Pentagon’s fully burdened cost of fuel ranges from $2.82 per gallon at source to $400 per gallon at remote locations.²
Casualties connected to fuel logistics are a measurable operational reality. NATO estimated that 3,000 US troops were killed or wounded between 2003 and 2007 in attacks on fuel and water convoys in Iraq and Afghanistan.³
At the forward edge, demand keeps climbing. Drones, electronic warfare and radar all draw continuous electrical power, and the legacy answer is still the diesel genset. It is inefficient, maintenance-intensive, produces inconsistent power, and generates acoustic, thermal, and mechanical signatures that present a vulnerability in environments defined by advanced surveillance and precision threats.
Geopolitical instability and growing NATO defense budgets are structural demand drivers. Critical maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil consumption transits, illustrate the systemic exposure of fossil fuel supply chains and the strategic value of reducing fuel dependence at the operational level.⁴
Reforming the Battlefield
Systems based on Catator’s CataRex® enables silent, efficient electricity generation from standard NATO logistics fuels. The approach combines catalytic fuel reforming with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) in a thermally integrated configuration, achieving substantially higher electrical efficiency than conventional diesel gensets while reducing the acoustic, thermal and mechanical signatures associated with combustion-based power generation.
The technology is built on proprietary catalytic reforming capabilities developed and refined over more than 35 years. The core capability is reforming difficult logistics fuels, including fuels with high sulphur content that conventional systems cannot process, enabling deployment within existing NATO fuel supply chains. Thermal integration with SOFC maximizes energy recovery across the system, delivering high electrical efficiency from fuel to output.
Catator has been engaged with defense customers and programs across NATO member states for several years. Most recently, the company completed a development program with a major defense customer, demonstrating the integration of its reforming technology with fuel cells for silent power generation against the customer’s technical and operational requirements. The program has advanced into full engineering development, with subsequent phases targeting military deployment.
Silent Battlefield Power
Replacing a diesel genset with a system based on Catator’s CataRex® technology and SOFC, delivers measurable improvements across the dimensions that matter most in field operations.
Less fuel, longer missions. Fuel consumption falls by roughly a third for the same electrical output. That extends mission duration, reduces costs, and cuts the number of resupply runs required to sustain a position. Every resupply run avoided is an exposure event avoided.
Radar-grade power. The system delivers high and stable power quality, suitable for sensitive electronics and radar systems. Where diesel gensets produce inconsistent output that can interfere with advanced equipment, systems based on CataRex® technology generate what operators refer to as radar quality electricity.
A smaller target. Without a reciprocating engine, the system generates substantially lower acoustic, thermal and mechanical signatures than a diesel genset, increasing survivability in operational environments defined by advanced surveillance and precision threats.
Clean exhaust. No soot, no visible plume, and no NOx or CO discharged next to personnel or in other sensitive environments.
Key Applications
Systems based on Catator’s CataRex® technology are suited for any operational environment where reliable, silent and fuel-efficient electricity generation is critical.
- Continuous electricity generation at forward operating bases and remote outposts.
- High-quality electricity for sensitive electronics and radar systems.
- Remote and austere operations where fuel logistics are complex, costly or high-risk.
- Mobile and modular installations requiring low acoustic, thermal and mechanical signatures.
Sources:
¹ Crawford, Neta C. Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change, and the Costs of War. Brown University Costs of War Project. https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/sites/default/files/papers/Crawford-Pentagon-Fuel-Use-Climate-Change.pdf
² How Much Does the Pentagon Pay for a Gallon of Gas? National Defense Magazine, April 2010. https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2010/4/1/2010april-how-much-does-the-pentagon-pay-for-a-gallon-of-gas
³ How the US military’s reliance on fossil fuels puts troops in danger. Task & Purpose, April 2022. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-fossil-fuels-troops-danger
⁴ Strait of Hormuz tensions: Impact on global oil prices amid Iran-US standoff. Gulf News. https://gulfnews.com/business/energy/strait-of-hormuz-tensions-impact-on-global-oil-prices-amid-iran-us-standoff-1.500452703