AIRMADE™ Fuel Demonstrations

AIRCO™ and U.S. Department of Defense Successfully Complete First-of-its-Kind Demonstrations Using Its CO₂-Derived Drop-In Fuel

The Brooklyn-based Company Successfully Completed Government Demonstrations Across Land, Air, and Sea with Synthetic Fuel Made Directly from CO₂

NEW YORK (April 15, 2025) – AIRCO™, the carbon conversion technology company dedicated to providing essential energy alternatives in support of national security, is announcing the successful completion of a series of breakthrough demonstrations with the Department of Defense using its proprietary AIRMADE^® Fuel across land, air, and sea.

Demonstrations Across Service Branches: Through ongoing work with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), AIRCO has uniquely and successfully demonstrated the usage of its synthetic fuel across various DoD applications, supported by the DIU, Army Office of the Chief of Engineers (OCE), Naval Postgraduate School’s JIFX Program, and the Air Force’s Project FIERCE.

"We’re proud to announce this trio of successful AIRMADE^® Fuel demonstrations, a continuation of our ongoing partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense”, said Gregory Constantine, Co-Founder and CEO of AIRCO™. "Our fast-progressing work with the Defense Innovation Unit shows that fuel derived from CO₂ is not only feasible but is on track to become essential for providing reliable and accessible operational energy anywhere in the world to support U.S. national security objectives. Together with the DoD, we’re thrilled to lead the way in advancing this critical technology that can act as a force multiplier, delivering new capabilities to our armed forces at the point of need, and improving safety for American servicemembers.”

Land Demonstration: AIRCO™ completed a highly attended demonstration of fully formulated CO₂-derived fuel on a land vehicle, hosted by OCE with support from DIU. This demonstration was successfully completed using a Polaris MRZR tactical vehicle at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point during their Branch Week, the AIRMADE^® Fuel provided the same performance as fossil diesel fuel while emitting less visible smoke in the exhaust. This demonstration capped a study showing the viability of AIRMADE fuel production that could be integrated into an Army nuclear reactor energy hub, which is intended to bring back nuclear reactor operations to the Department of the Army for the first time in 50 years.

Marine Demonstration: AIRCO™ initially demonstrated AIRMADE^® Fuel’s effectiveness in marine applications at the Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Joint Interagency Field Experimentation (JIFX) Program at Camp Roberts on Lake San Antonio, Monterey, California. A 5.1m SeaFox II RHIB vessel, powered by AIRMADE^® Fuel, successfully navigated for over six hours, matching traditional fuel performance while emitting less visible smoke in the exhaust.

A second marine demonstration was conducted at the Technical Experimentation 24-1 located at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, Virginia. AIRMADE^® Fuel was demonstrated in a 7.0m 300hp Zodiac RHIB and performed speed and acceleration tests for comparison to fossil fuel. The results indicated that AIRMADE^® Fuel performed identically to fossil fuel, again with less visible smoke emitted from the exhaust.

Air Demonstration: Additionally, in partnership with the Air Force’s Project FIERCE, AIRCO™ achieved the first-ever unmanned flight powered by 100% synthetic jet fuel derived from CO₂. This noteworthy flight, utilizing AIRMADE^® SAF, underscored AIRCO’s capacity to supply fuel for military aviation.

AIRCO™ is among the first companies to have proven its synthetic fuel technology can effectively power vehicles across these critical domains, showcasing its versatility and reinforcing its position as a leader in energy solutions. The company is also proud to partner with NASA to further fuel innovation for future space exploration, broadening the impact of its fuel technologies.

About AIRCO

AIRCO™ is a world leader in carbon conversion technology, paving the way to global energy security by transforming CO₂ into a valuable resource. Its proprietary AIRMADE™ Technology is an adaptable platform that enables industries to efficiently produce high-demand, fully-formulated synthetic fuels from CO₂ and hydrogen. Currently focused on fuel applications, AIRCO's goal is to deploy the most cost-effective and scalable fuel production technology on the market.

The company has commercial partnerships with airlines including JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic, amongst others, and has been awarded multiple government contracts, including with NASA and the United States Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit. The company has received industry recognition through awards such as Time Best Inventions, Inc. Best in Business, Fast Company World Changing Ideas, and the XPrize for Carbon Removal.

AIRCO media contact:
airco@jbc-pr.com