NEW BRITAIN, PA — AIRCO has opened a manufacturing and integration facility in Bucks County that will serve as the company’s primary production center for synthetic fuel systems designed to generate fuel in remote locations, expanding domestic manufacturing tied to U.S. defense and energy-security initiatives.
The facility will manufacture AIRCO’s Mobile, Adaptable and Dynamic Fuel System, a containerized platform that produces synthetic fuel using captured carbon dioxide and is intended for deployment in locations where conventional fuel delivery is difficult, costly or operationally risky.
The expansion comes as the Department of Defense explores technologies aimed at reducing reliance on vulnerable fuel supply chains, which have long been a logistical challenge during military operations.
AIRCO stated that the Pennsylvania site will consolidate research and development, engineering, manufacturing and operations functions into a single location while supporting increased production of systems destined for government customers.
The MAD Fuel System is designed to produce fuel for aircraft and ground vehicles at or near the point of use rather than relying on transportation from centralized refineries.
“For over a century, fuel has been produced in centralized refineries and shipped around the world,” AIRCO Chief Executive Officer Gregory Constantine said. “This facility enables us to manufacture autonomous systems that produce fuel anywhere, on demand.”
The company noted the technology has received support from the U.S. Air Force and is being developed with increasing levels of automation intended to reduce personnel requirements in deployed environments.
The facility expansion follows AIRCO’s recent Strategic Funding Increase, or STRATFI, award through AFWERX, a Department of the Air Force innovation program designed to accelerate commercialization of emerging technologies with military applications.
Beyond defense programs, AIRCO has also established partnerships with commercial aviation companies including JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic as it develops synthetic aviation fuel technologies.
The New Britain facility becomes the company’s primary manufacturing base as it seeks to scale production of fuel-generation systems for both military and commercial applications.
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