Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

Syracuse University partners with Arden-Fox to support advancement of Department of Defense’s Net Zero Energy Initiative

Monday, October 18, 2010, By Kevin C. Quinn
Share
research

Syracuse partnership substitutes petroleum diesel with biodiesel

Syracuse University today announced a partnership to advance the use of biofuels by the U.S. armed forces as an alternative energy source.  The effort involves entrepreneurs John Fox ’92 and Wayne Arden, who have proposed producing biodiesel in Afghanistan as a means to achieve multiple benefits, including reducing risks to American troops and building a new, sustainable economy in the country.  

With energy demands growing at home bases, along with many global deployments creating logistical challenges, the Department of Defense (DOD) is working to increase the use of renewable energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuel resources and to achieve ‘net zero energy’ (NZE) throughout the military. The Arden-Fox report “Producing and Using Biodiesel in Afghanistan” analyzed latest off-the-shelf solutions that could be implemented to produce biodiesel in Afghanistan that will reduce casualties as well as create new industry for building a stable nation. 

The creation of this new partnership will allow for piloting of the recommendations included in the report and documentation of the economical viability of the proposal. 

The paper’s inspiration came from the commitment by President Obama to speed up the deployment of 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in 2009 and his announcement of the expected start of troop withdrawal from the country starting in July 2011.  

“We recognize the extensive research and effort that has been put into developing these recommendations,” says Gina Lee-Glauser, vice president for research at Syracuse University. “We believe that these recommendations have the potential to reduce U.S. casualties and lessen the military’s dependence on petroleum. In the coming weeks, we will be partnering with John Fox and Wayne Arden to evaluate a parallel implementation at one or more U.S. military bases. The purpose of this partnership is to pilot the recommendations and document the economical viability of the proposal. This parallel implementation will help the DOD make further progress in making military bases in the U.S. Net Zero Installations.”  

“SU faculty members have a broad spectrum of expertise that will help foster this partnership. For instance, understanding plant molecular biology holds the key to the development and sustainable harvesting of biodiesel crops, while innovative process design and integration are critical in achieving cost-effective production” says Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, professor and department chair of biomedical and chemical engineering in SU’s L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. 

“Syracuse University’s expertise relating to biofuel science and engineering can make a significant contribution to the industry by advancing the state of the art of feedstock cultivation and production technology,” says Fox, co-author of the report. “Their work is relevant to military bases in New York state and across the country.”   

“The U.S. must increasingly turn to renewable energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels,” says Arden, the other co-author of the report. “Syracuse’s commitment to biofuel research and development is very encouraging, and could benefit the military both overseas and here at home.” 

In the report, Arden and Fox highlight the five key benefits associated with producing and using biodiesel in Afghanistan: 

  • Reduce casualties—A significant percentage of U.S. casualties stem from protecting fuel convoys. The construction of a single, medium-sized biodiesel plant would reduce casualties by four to five soldiers per year.
  • Free up troops for other assignments—By reducing the number of fuel convoys needed, an estimated 120 soldiers each year can be freed up for more critical assignments.
  • Save money—The substitution of biodiesel produced locally in Afghanistan for the importing of expensive petroleum diesel has the potential to save millions or billions of dollars a year. Using $400 per gallon as the Fully Burdened Cost of Fuel (FBCF), a figure the DOD provided Congress in October 2009, the military would save $3.7 billion annually on fuel costs. However, even if the FBCF is only $41 per gallon, the plant has a one-year payback. In the second year of operation the plant would save $90 million and fuel would cost $33.50 per gallon.
  • Challenge the opium trade—Reducing the influence of the opium trade is one of the most difficult challenges in Afghanistan. The biodiesel plant, allowing agricultural specialists to persuade farmers to switch from growing poppy to safflower, could reduce the cultivation of poppy up to 50 percent.This reduction would deny opium revenues to the Taliban, challenge criminal networks and lower the incidence of corruption related to the drug trade.
  • Create a new industry for Afghanistan —If the first plant is successful in supplying biodiesel to the U.S. military, other plants may be built, further stimulating agriculture in Afghanistan and creating jobs. These plants may be focused on the domestic fuel market, countering the drain that importing petroleum has on Afghanistan’s fragile economy. An export market is also possible since neighboring countries import large quantities of oil.        

The report also recommends that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) fund a study to analyze the creation of an Afghanistan commodities exchange. A commodities exchange would bring greater visibility to Afghanistan biodiesel crops, and more generally would strengthen the critical agricultural sector and Afghanistan’s nascent mining sector. 

Arden and Fox’s recommendations have already gained support from Bill Holmberg, chairman of Biomass Coordinating Council, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)–Lt. Col. USMC (Ret.); and Gary Katz, co-founder, president and CEO of International Securities Exchange. 

A full copy of the paper can be downloaded by visiting http://biodieselinafghanistan.org.  

Fox is a graduate of SU’s College of Arts and Sciences and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University. Arden is a graduate of Dartmouth College and has an M.B.A. and master’s degree from Columbia University. More biographical information about Fox and Arden can be found at http://biodieselinafghanistan.org.

  • Author

Kevin C. Quinn

  • Recent
  • Most Read
  • Related
  • LaunchPad Student Teams Sweep Award Competitions, Winning Nearly $80,000 in Fall 2019
    Monday, December 9, 2019, By Cristina Hatem
  • Students Create #OneCuse Social Media Campaign to Unify University Community
    Monday, December 9, 2019, By Kathleen Haley
  • Students Invited to Participate in Campus Engagement Committees
    Monday, December 9, 2019, By Shannon Andre
  • YouTube Fails In Its Fight Against Disinformation
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By Daryl Lovell
  • Community Comes Together for Peace Vigil
    Thursday, December 5, 2019, By News Staff
  • SU in the News: Tuesday, July 3
    Tuesday, July 3, 2012, By News Staff
  • Syracuse University Permanently Expels Theta Tau Chapter
    Saturday, April 21, 2018, By News Staff
  • Seven Syracuse Alumni Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists
    Thursday, January 5, 2017, By John Boccacino
  • Syracuse University Announces $118 Million Investment to Create a New Stadium Experience
    Monday, May 14, 2018, By News Staff
  • 100 Years after WWI: The Lasting Impacts of the Great War
    Monday, July 28, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
  • Efficient new wireless system developed by Syracuse University scientist can save 10 percent of bandwidth
    Monday, December 21, 2009, By News Staff
  • Communication and rhetorical studies graduate students to present research at national, international conferences
    Wednesday, June 8, 2011, By Erica Blust
  • Religion Professor Explores Ancient Christian Practice During Fellowship
    Friday, September 30, 2016, By Kathleen Haley
  • Stromer-Galley Presents ‘Illuminating 2016’ Project at Tow Center
    Tuesday, April 26, 2016, By J.D. Ross
  • Syracuse Triumphs at ACC ‘Meeting of the Minds’ Conference
    Friday, May 8, 2015, By Rob Enslin

More In Business & Economy

LaunchPad Student Teams Sweep Award Competitions, Winning Nearly $80,000 in Fall 2019

Numerous student startup teams from the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars in Bird Library (LaunchPad) have won business competitions and prizes totaling $79,500 during the Fall 2019 semester. The LaunchPad is Syracuse University’s innovation hub, connecting the entire University’s resource-rich…

Whitman School Appoints Meghan Florkowski Director of the WISE Women’s Business Center

Meghan Florkowski has been named director of the WISE (Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship) Women’s Business Center. Her appointment was effective Nov. 11. “Meghan brings a positive attitude, strong work ethic, an ability to lead collaboration among diverse stakeholder…

Young Alumni Entrepreneurs to Speak About ‘Breaking the Rules, Blazing New Paths, Not Waiting Their Turn’

Six successful young alumni entrepreneurs are returning to Syracuse University this week to share their insights and inspire others to follow their own creative paths to success. Joshua Aviv ’15, G’17, Kelsey Davis ’19, Daniel Folkman ’12, Julia Haber ’18,…

School of Architecture Academic Programs, Dean Honored by DesignIntelligence

The School of Architecture has again been ranked among the nation’s best schools for the study of architecture. In the 2019-20 rankings report, compiled by DesignIntelligence—the definitive ranking source for schools in architecture, landscape architecture and interiors—the school ranked 5th…

Singles Day 2019 Likely To Set Sales Records

With Singles Day approaching on November 11- an event first started in 1993 at Nanjing University and capitalized by Alibaba – retailers are gearing up for even more sales during the world’s biggest online shopping blitz. Ray Wimer is an assistant professor…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2019 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.