From Fossil Vulnerability to Synthetic Resilience
PtX Fuels in the Military
Copyright: PtX Lab Lausitz
PtX Lab Paper | 05/2026 | Topic: Military | 19 Pages
The PtX Lab paper From Fossil Vulnerability to Synthetic Resilience: PtX Fuels in the Military examines the security, logistical and climate-policy implications of fossil fuel use in the military, as well as the potential of PtX fuels to decarbonise military energy systems.
Armed forces are highly dependent on energy carriers with high energy density and are simultaneously among the major emitters of greenhouse gases. At the same time, dependence on fossil fuels creates strategic vulnerabilities, including complex supply chains, geopolitical dependencies and exposed energy infrastructure. As the civilian economy continues to decarbonise, military systems and infrastructure also risk becoming locked into increasingly costly fossil fuel dependency.
PtX fuels offer the possibility of operating existing military platforms in a more climate-compatible manner without requiring fundamental technical modifications. In addition, they may help shorten supply chains, increase the resilience of energy systems and reduce strategic dependencies. The paper also analyses the key challenges associated with PtX fuels — particularly limited production capacities and high costs — and discusses the potential role of armed forces as demand-side drivers in the market ramp-up of synthetic fuels.
Bibliographic data
- Publication: From Fossil Vulnerability to Synthetic Resilience: PtX Fuels in the Military
- Publication date: May 2026
- Publisher: PtX Lab Lausitz – Think and Do Tank for Fuels and Basic Materials from Green Hydrogen, Calauer Straße 70, 03048 Cottbus
- Suggested citation: PtX Lab Lausitz (2026): From Fossil Vulnerability to Synthetic Resilience: PtX Fuels in the Military
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