The Mad Fuel system is a mobile, containerised platform that produces synthetic drop-in fuels at or near the point of use from electricity, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide (CO2).

It hopes to strengthen fuel resilience by decentralising production and is considered one of the US Department of War’s (DOW) six critical technologies.

Airco developed the technology in collaboration with DOW offices, including the innovation arm AFWERX.

While technical specifics remain sparse, Airco says it is feedstock-flexible, drawing on any renewable power to deliver synthetic jet fuel or diesel equivalent.

It hopes the system, which has received around $70m in federal funding, will be deployed in artificial intelligence-coordinated “fuel swarms” designed to ensure supply.

Gregory Constantine, CEO of Airco, said that the system could change fuel logistics from a vulnerability to a “decisive asymmetric advantage.”

The announcement comes as decentralised synthetic fuel production systems appear to be gaining traction. It quickly follows German pair, Ineratec and Rheinmetall, revealing a similar system.

One potential bottleneck for decentralised e-fuel systems is the availability of CO2.

While point-source CO2 from industrial emitters may be available in some regions, volumes, purity and contractual access are far from guaranteed – particularly in disrupted or contested environments.