Ministry of Defence: Use of Biofuels

Lord Soley Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2014 Grand Committee

Asked by

[Lord Soley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the Ministry of Defence policy on the use of biofuels for the Armed Forces.

[Lord Soley (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this matter before the Committee and the Minister. He knows my views on this subject, which go back to a Question for Written Answer on 16 January this year. On that day I got what I regarded as probably one of the most disappointing and depressing Answers I have had to a Parliamentary Question for a very long time. Basically, I asked about the use of biofuels by the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the answer came back that they are used in “road transport”. The only hopeful part of the Answer was the last line, which stated that:

“The MOD is encouraging these manufacturers to work towards adopting biofuels in the future”.—[Official Report, 16/1/14; col. WA 37.]

It is a depressing Answer by any standard because there are three very good reasons why we should be using, in particular, the new generation of biofuels. The first of those reasons is climate change. However, even if you are not worried about climate change, the second reason is security of fuel supply and the safety of our troops in the field. I will say more about that in a moment. The third reason concerns research and development. We in this country are in danger of falling seriously behind what is being done in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. From my point of view this is an important issue, so the Answer on 16 January was deeply depressing.

Perhaps I may put this in context by talking first about what other countries are doing. I shall give a few examples to show the Committee how far behind we have slipped compared with other nations. As one would predict, the United States is well ahead, but I shall give a few examples. It has what it calls, curiously, the “Great Green Fleet”. It might sound an unusual name, and it is, but basically the United States intends the whole of that fleet to be biofuel-enabled by next year: aircraft, ships, everything else and the marines who are in it. I will come back to that point.

One of the reasons I think this is so important is that there is a tendency to think of biofuel as just something you drop in aircraft tanks or in ships’ fuel supplies. It is not. It goes much further than that. The United States Marine Corps makes the point that marines are equipped with biofuel resources for their safety. In Afghanistan, for every 50 convoys bringing in gasoline, one marine was killed or wounded. That is why quite a few years back they started producing biofuels in Afghanistan. They were flying aircraft on algae produced on site because that could not be blown up en route from Afghanistan. More importantly, to convey how far ahead they were, I point out that they realised that to supply the energy needs of marines sent into the field, those marines had to carry 700-gram batteries—no, not grams; I will have to give the figure in a moment. They had to carry heavyweight batteries, and that weighed them down. Now they are provided with resources that enable them to provide their energy needs in the field entirely from the sun and other renewable resources on site. In other words, they are safer and their equipment is lighter. It is a very important step forward, and it produced great advantages for them.

I wonder what we were doing in Afghanistan with this. I suspect we were not doing any of it. I suspect we were not even using the fuels being supplied by the United States for its own aircraft. We must remember that these were for high-performance aircraft. The F18 Hornet flies at close to mach 2. This is not used just for small aircraft—it is not of limited use.

By 2020, half the energy needs of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps will be from non-fossil fuels. F18s are flying on biofuels right now. The Library Note, which is very useful on this, gives a lot of background. One of the best extracts is from the New Scientist. It indicates the way that the United States Marine Corps was operating. The figure I was missing a few moments ago is that it saved marines carrying 700 pounds of batteries when they went out on patrol. If you have any knowledge of what troops have to carry on their backs when they go on patrol, you will know that it is a major saving.

It is not just the United States. On the Floor of the House the other month, I drew attention to the Italian navy warship which is operating in the Baltic at the moment and is entirely biofuel-enabled. The other year, the Royal Netherlands Air Force was flying high-performance Apache helicopters on biofuels. The pilots’ only comment was that it smelt different—not so sulphurous—when they returned to base. There was no performance difference. I am not saying that there are no problems about conversion or in making ships, aircraft or whatever biofuel-operable, but they are far less than is often thought. Above all, they are part of the research and development that is going on.

The United States Marine Corps said that when you do not need as much resupply for fuel, water and batteries, you can stay out longer, do the mission at greater distances and not put marines at risk. The other thing I mention here is that the United States Air Force certified biofuels for use in F15s, F16s and C17 cargo planes, so we are talking about very large cargo aircraft, including high-performance jets. They were all certified for the alternative fuels. The United States Army was anticipating, or has already achieved, that most of its ground vehicles, including Humvees, Abrams battle tanks and Apache helicopters, would be dual-fuel use by the end of last year. When you put that against the Answer I received on 16 January, you will see why I am concerned.

This is not just about climate change, which is important, and I hope that I do not need to spell it out in any more detail. What I want to talk about is security. Unless you think that gasoline supplies from the Middle East are entirely safe, we had better start thinking about where we get our fuels from. Again, it is no guarantee to rely on North Sea oil, or whatever. By making your aircraft, your fleets and your army units reliant on biofuels, as well as being able to use gasoline, you are in a much stronger position and able to cope with many of the changes taking place in the world. I emphasise the importance of that. Again, it is not as if it is not being done elsewhere. Airlines such as British Airways, Virgin, Air New Zealand and Lufthansa are all flying on biofuel mixes. When you fly in any of their aircraft you are now nearly always flying on a biofuel mix. One of the best examples we have in this country is in south-east London, where research is being done, initiated by British Airways. They are using fuel from household waste and other additives.

We can go on ignoring this issue but, when I went through the literature, I found that the research in this country is relatively limited compared to what is being done elsewhere in the world. One of the things I noticed was the visit of Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti RN to the United States. He is the UK’s climate and energy adviser, which I am sure the Minister will know about. He came back with the recommendation that the US and the UK should collaborate more closely on the development of strategic high-performance biofuel. In other words we know about this, and we know what other countries are doing—at least I hope the Minister and his department know what other countries are doing—but frankly we are not doing it ourselves.

That leaves us behind on climate change and particularly on security, and very much on the R&D initiative. Rolls-Royce was one of the companies cited as doing it, and there are smaller companies involved, but there is much that we can do in this country—particularly on algae, which I have mentioned before—which will enable us to keep up to speed on this. Frankly, we have fallen seriously behind. I say to the Minister that, if I get nothing else from this debate, I want some recognition from him that we will never get an Answer like that again. It was so depressing and so lacking in content. We really have to do very much better.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Soley, for putting this debate down. When I saw it listed, I felt that it was rather like Groundhog Day, or déjà vu, because three months ago, or 31 March of this year, the noble Lord asked the Government whether they intended to increase the use of biofuels for the Armed Forces. I waited with interest to see what the noble Lord was going to bring up in the debate. I have not been disappointed, because it has certainly added to the knowledge that we need to have.

There is nothing wrong with using biofuels from food waste and crops which would not otherwise go into food production. However I am going to take a slightly different angle from the noble Lord. My concern is that I have heard nothing to suggest that the Ministry of Defence, or indeed the noble Lord, Lord Soley, cares at all about the harm to food production. I assume that this is considered to be a concern of Defra rather than the MoD. It must be the concern of somebody. The problem of this Government and earlier Administrations is the compartmentalisation of policies and decisions.

I suppose that I need to ask some direct questions of my noble friend the Minister. When the MoD makes use of biofuels, is any contact made with Defra or any other interested bodies as to whether their use has affected food crops? Has the use of biofuels increased the cost of food? A lot of research has been done on this issue.

[Lord Soley]

Perhaps I may intervene briefly to say that I am with the noble Lord all the way, but the next or new generation of biofuels really has very little impact on food production. The fuels are based on things like algae and so on.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill]

I will come on to the interesting point about algaes in a moment. In March, the Minister stated that the MoD uses biofuels for road transport, and the question essentially being asked by the noble Lord, Lord Soley, is whether biofuels have progressed beyond that end use. More specifically, will biofuels be used in the two new aircraft carriers, which will clearly consume vast amounts of fuel? Does the new F35B fighter use biofuels at all? I am trying to put some specifics on the points raised by the noble Lord, Lord Soley.

On a positive note, the drive to produce biofuels that are suitable for aviation is starting to look promising. I am not sure that I agree with the totality of what the noble Lord, Lord Soley, said, but one of the state governments in Brazil has put in place a policy to stimulate the cultivation, extraction and processing of the native macaw palm, which is a potentially sustainable source. I would hope that this is something that R&D somewhere within the Government would be pursuing. Further, on the other side of the argument, can the Minister comment on the accusation made in 2013 that the EU missed an opportunity by failing to agree a cap on the use of biofuels? Can he also comment on studies which show that as land is dedicated to energy crops, land for growing food is simply taken from other areas, often forested places, which leads to substantial CO₂ emissions because the production of biofuels generates the emission of CO₂, thus drastically reducing their benefit?

Most military vehicles use diesel, as is the case in other countries, and of course biodiesel can be blended with diesel for general use in many vehicles, but sourcing is deeply problematic. The noble Lord, Lord Soley, used the example of the conflict in Afghanistan, which raises the question of how and where biofuels are created. It is all very well if they are produced in Afghanistan for use in that conflict, but bearing in mind that we are not looking to enter into another conflict like Afghanistan or another invasion of Iraq, how will we source these biofuels on location? I ask this because we are probably talking about smaller forces going into smaller conflicts so there is a question about whether these biofuels can be produced locally.

There are claims that certain wonder-biodiesel crops can be grown on a large scale on marginal land for biofuel without conflicting with existing crops. According to my research, I am afraid that these claims are unproven and they have not materialised in the marketplace.

I turn now to the interjection by the noble Lord, Lord Soley. In theory, biodiesel can be made from algae, but it need not necessarily be biodiesel. Biofuels have been used in aircraft on demonstration flights. However, in spite of decades of research, no large-scale production of such biofuels exists that I know of. Indeed, if anyone could make the production of biofuels from algae viable, they would probably be richer than Bill Gates. The noble Lord mentioned the so-called second generation biofuels made by a process of wood and straw fermentation, but so far they have failed to succeed on a large scale, despite strong European and American incentives. I could go on to discuss compressed biogas and so on, but perhaps this is not the time to do so.

My contribution to this debate is to sound a note of caution around the very interesting points that have been made by the noble Lord, Lord Soley. There is a downside, which is the impact on food production. That should be taken into account. This whole thing is aimed at the MoD and the aircraft and vessels used by the MoD, but the use of biofuels is not just military. There is a much wider session to be had, which any Government of any hue would need to look. In a small world, this is something the MoD needs to look at.

I have 10 minutes. I am sorry but I am well within my time—though I have no wish to exceed time if need be.

The noble Lord, Lord Soley, concentrates on the MoD and its use of biofuels, but this is a much wider subject. I would like any Government, this Government or any other future Administration, to look at how Defra and other government departments work with the MoD to see whether biofuels should be used. We already know that biofuels are part of the fuel we get from petrol pumps. There is a percentage of biofuels in petrol. Things are moving. I understand what the noble Lord, Lord Soley, says about the lack of R&D in the UK, but I do not believe that it is R&D specifically for the MoD; it is R&D for the Government. We need to have some joined-up thinking between government departments about whether it is a good thing, whether it is a good thing in certain places, whether it is reducing food production and whether it is the way forward. Just because our allies in the United States are using it does not necessarily convince me that it is the way forward, but it could be.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever) (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Soley, for giving us the opportunity to debate what is an important issue, as he said. I have listened carefully to his speech and I will, of course, do my very best to address the points that he has raised. I may not have jotted down all his questions, but I have got one or two and I shall certainly write to him with the answers and make sure that I include all other noble Lords who have taken part in the debate.

Before I start, it would be helpful if I placed the issue of biofuels in its wider context. In 2011, the MoD published its sustainable development strategy, which provides direction on what defence must do to become increasingly sustainable during the period 2011 to 2030. The strategy recognised that sustainable development offered a number of benefits to defence, including one that is particularly pertinent to this debate. To quote directly from the strategy:

“Less reliance on fossil fuels in theatre will reduce the amount of fuel that has to be transported to the front line; a costly, risky and logistically resource-intensive activity that can undermine operational continuity”.

I think that the noble Lord made that point. In seeking to attain this benefit, the MoD has set the Armed Forces a target to reduce fossil fuel consumption for equipment and operations by 18% by 2020. I am sure that the noble Lord will welcome this, but I want to be clear that we will look to use the most appropriate opportunities to meet this reduction and that the use of biofuels may be only one option to meet that target. It would be short-sighted to concentrate our resources on only one possible energy solution.

As I have frequently said in this House, the Ministry of Defence already uses biofuels. They are used for road transport where EU legislation obliges manufacturers to include a percentage of biofuels in the fuel they produce. I think that was my original Answer to the noble Lord’s Oral Question. I add that the Defence Infrastructure Organisation is also looking at the application of biofuels in heating systems. Biofuels for marine and aviation use is a more complicated issue and is governed by the requirements and approvals of the Ministry of Defence’s equipment manufacturers.

The noble Lord has today and previously given a number of examples of what other countries are reported to be doing to increase the use of biofuels in both ships and aircraft. The results of the performance of these fuels are shared through equipment manufacturers and international forums such as the Air and Space Interoperability Council. The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support fuel team ensures that it stays up to date with this research, and I am not sure that the position in other countries, as described by the noble Lord, is quite as positive as he suggests. The use of algae-based fuel by the United States Air Force, for instance, is proving to be more difficult than originally envisaged, particularly with regard to quality control and the consequent risk to airworthiness. For this reason the USAF is proceeding with caution with the use of biofuels. Moreover, I understand that the USAF is now focusing its attention on synthetic fuel as the alternative fuel of choice.

The noble Lord mentioned an Italian ship. I will look into that as I am very interested in what he said, and I will write to him on that. There are also other well documented problems in using biofuels, such as the impact of biofuel production on agriculture and forestry, although I acknowledge that what have been termed “advanced biofuels”, such as those based on algae, do not compete with those activities.

The introduction of a new technology is never an easy ride; there will always be problems to overcome, and I do not want to give the impression that the MoD is dismissive or complacent about the potential benefits of biofuels: far from it. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, on behalf of the MoD, has a resilience research programme that is actively researching alternative fuels—that is, fuels derived partly or wholly from traditional or non-traditional sources—for use across the whole of the MoD, including ships, aircraft, generators and fuel depots.

This activity underlines our commitment to a sustainable development strategy in order to achieve a number of benefits for defence: utilising a varied energy supply base; reducing exposure to price instabilities; increasing operational freedom; and reducing defence’s impact on the natural environment. The potential use of biofuels is a part of this research programme. The noble Lord mentioned Admiral Morisetti’s visit to the United States and his recommendations. Again, I will look into that and write to the noble Lord.

Furthermore, I am pleased to report that in September this year we will create an MoD strategic fuel authority, which will be responsible for a fully co-ordinated approach to fuels assurance, governance, capability management, supply chain and requirements. It will provide a technical authority for defence fuels and engage with other government departments, industry, NATO and key allies. It will also identify research and development activities to support the extended use of alternative fuels by the MoD. I hope the noble Lord is happy to hear that. I can, of course, supply him with further information about what we are planning. I am sure that the Committee will welcome this initiative. I hope I have demonstrated the MoD’s clear commitment to researching the application of alternative fuels in the defence environment. The potential benefits are huge. It is crucial that the MoD stays at the forefront of these developments, and I am confident that it will.

I mentioned the noble Lord’s questions and undertook to answer them. My noble friend Lord Palmer asked whether the MoD had any contact with Defra or any interested body about whether the use of biofuels affects food crops. He asked if the use of biofuels increases the cost of food. I am aware of the concerns about using biofuels and the impact on food production. The MoD does not consult directly with Defra on this issue, but there are cross-government discussions on the use of biofuels and sustainability in general. The MoD engages with the Department of Energy and Climate Change on increasing renewables on the defence estate.

My noble friend asked whether the MoD uses biofuels other than for road transport. The MoD uses biofuels for road transport where EU regulations oblige fuel manufacturers to include them—and only for that. However, the Defence Equipment and Support fuel team regularly engages with manufacturers to understand the latest research and how it may apply to the MoD. The new defence strategic fuel authority will also identify research and development activities to support the extended use of alternative fuels by the Ministry of Defence.

My noble friend asked about the use of biofuels by the Joint Strike Fighter and in the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. There are no current plans to use biofuels in the Joint Strike Fighter or the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Further research is being undertaken for their use in aircraft, learning from the US lead in this area and obtaining gearing from international collaboration via NATO working groups. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, in partnership with the DE&S defence airworthiness team and the Royal Navy’s 1710 Naval Air Squadron, is conducting materiels compatibility testing using synthetic fuel kindly supplied by the United States.

[Lord Soley]

The aircraft carriers will be with us for many decades. Is it not incumbent on us at this stage to do what other countries are doing and make them biofuel-capable or mixed fuel-capable? We are building two brand new aircraft carriers, so why are we not doing that?

[Lord Astor of Hever]

This is one of the areas that the organisation I mentioned will look into. Clearly the noble Lord raises a good point. It would be very unwise for us not to consider it down the road. The Armed Forces have a target to reduce fossil fuel consumption in equipment and operations by 18% by 2020.

My noble friend also asked if I can comment on studies showing that using land for energy crops is detrimental to food production and forestry. I am aware of the concerns about the use of biofuels on agriculture and forests but, as my noble friend said, this is really the responsibility of Defra. I shall need to consult government colleagues and will ensure that my noble friend receives a letter on this point. I will copy other noble Lords in on that.

My noble friend asked if the EU missed an opportunity in 2013 by failing to agree a cap on the use of biofuels. I shall again need to consult government colleagues and will ensure that my noble friend receives a letter on that point, too.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, asked several questions. I will have to write to him. One question was on what we are doing beyond road transport, but I cannot read the writing here. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has a resilience research programme that is actively researching alternative fuels for use across the whole of the MoD—in ships, aircraft, generators and fuel depots. I hope I have answered some of the questions I was asked. I look forward to writing and answering all the questions in full.