Tyson Foods Renewable Fuel Venture Lands U.S. Navy Contract

Dynamic Fuels, a joint venture between Tyson Foods and Syntroleum Corp., was awarded a contract to supply the U.S. Navy with 450,000 gallons of renewable fuels.

Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil and bioproducts company, will help Dynamic Fuels fulfill the contract, which the Navy says is “the single largest purchase of biofuel in government history.”

According to Springdale-based Tyson Foods, the contract involves supplying the Navy with 100,000 gallons of jet fuel and 350,000 gallons of marine distillate fuel starting in May 2012. The fuel will be used as part of the Navy’s efforts to develop a “Green Strike Group” composed of vessels and ships powered by biofuel.

The fuel for the newly-announced Navy contract will be manufactured at Dynamic Fuel’s Geismar, Louisiana, renewable fuels plant, which is used to convert oil, fats and greases into fuel products. It will use “U.S.-sourced yellow grease,” which is also used in cooking oil, as well as Solazyme’s tailored algal oil as feedstocks.

In June 2011, Dynamic Fuels announced a major contract to provide 20 million gallons a year to several overseas commercial airline operations.

“This award clearly demonstrates that we’re building momentum for the sale and use of our renewable fuels,” said Jeff Bigger, director of the Dynamic Fuels LLC Management Committee. “We’ve previously provided the U.S. military with fuel for testing. We believe this contract confirms they recognize the performance and environmental advantages of our fuel since they’re coming back for more and are asking for a much larger volume.”