Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division has licensed 21 patents to produce high-performance biosynthetic fuels to CycloKinetics. The licensing agreement will accelerate the large-scale production of advanced fuels for jets, rockets, missiles, and drones.
For several years, NAWCWD’s research department has been developing synthetic fuels that can be produced from crude biomass including farm waste and city trash. These green fuels offer operational benefits over conventional fuels, including higher energy density, cleaner combustion, and lower freezing points. This work has produced a robust intellectual property portfolio and turned everyday waste into a resource for national defense.
The agreement with CycloKinetics is a key step in transitioning these inventions from the laboratory to the warfighter, directly supporting NAWCWD’s mission to provide the military with decisive capabilities. To reach the agreement, the NAWCWD Technology Transition Office partnered with TechLink, the Department of War's partnership intermediary, to market the patented technology and negotiate the licensing terms.
“The NAWCWD research department generates an impressive amount of intellectual property from our basic and applied research efforts,” said Dr. Ben Harvey, chief scientist for advanced fuel development at NAWCWD. “To rapidly scale technologies and deliver them to the fleet, we must collaborate closely with industrial partners.”
This collaboration was recently validated when the Department of War awarded Technology Holding LLC and CycloKinetics $23 million through the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies program. The funding will be used to produce a custom, high-density fuel developed at NAWCWD for testing in Naval Strike Missiles. The APFIT program is designed to move new technologies out of the lab and into active military use more quickly, turning laboratory research into battle-ready products.
“This licensing agreement is a testament to the world-class talent at NAWCWD, where our scientists pave the way for superior technologies,” said Felipe Jauregui, NAWCWD chief technology officer. “By partnering with innovative companies like CycloKinetics to move these high-performance fuels from our labs to platforms like the Naval Strike Missile, we are delivering unmatched range and lethality to the warfighter and strengthening our domestic industrial base.”
By converting waste into strategically important fuels, NAWCWD is not only enhancing the range and performance of U.S. naval aircraft and weapon systems but also building a more lethal and resilient fleet ready to dominate the skies.