Syntroleum Sees Synthetic Fuels Playing Key Role in 21stC. Truck Program

    DETROIT, March 5 "The goals of the 21st Century Truck
Program become more achievable when synthetic fuels are used in lieu of
conventional fuels," stated Syntroleum President Mark Agee, who
was on hand with other industry partners and public officials invited to
participate as the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center unveiled its
SmarTruck at the Society of Automotive Engineers' International World Congress
and Exposition.

    The SmarTruck was developed by the United States Army Tank-Automotive and
Armaments Command (TACOM), under the federal 21st Century Truck Initiative.
Program partners in the Initiative, which was announced last year, include the
Army, the US Departments of Energy and Transportation, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the US trucking industry.  For the past two years,
Syntroleum has been providing synthetic fuels to a number of military,
automobile manufacturers and fuel cell company testing programs for the
purpose of demonstrating the benefits of synthetic fuels and their ability to
operate across multiple power train technologies.  Some of these tests were a
precursor to the 21st Century Truck program initiatives.

    The 10-year goal of the 21st Century Truck program is to develop
technologies that will increase fuel economy and safety in four specific
classes of commercial trucks and buses, leading to production prototypes that:

    * Triple the fuel economy of heavy pickups, large delivery vans and
      full-sized passenger buses;
    * Double fuel economy for 18-wheeler long-haul trucks;
    * Improve safety;
    * Achieve superior operational performance and lower costs for truckers;
      and
    * Exceed expected emission requirements for 2010 by making major
      reductions in NOx, particulates and other local air pollutants.

    Priorities for the program include development of advanced propulsion
technology, with focus on advanced diesel engine, hybrid electric, fuel cell
and advanced drive trains, and clean burning fuels that are adaptable to the
full range of propulsion sources.

    Because synthetic fuels are virtually free of sulfur, aromatics and
metals, they inherently reduce harmful emissions.  They also enable exhaust
after treatment devices that can reduce emissions of nitrogen and sulfur
oxides (NOx and SOx) and particulates, to the target levels anticipated for
2010 regulations.  The high hydrogen density of synthetic fuels also makes
them useful for fuel cell systems.  The ability to use the same fuel in
internal combustion engines as well as fuel cells satisfies another major
objective of the 21st Century Initiative program.

    Synthetic fuel's ability to be "power-train neutral" may also play an
important role in military applications.  The military has been investigating
the possibility of standardizing a "single battlefield fuel," so that the same
fuel that can be used in turbine engines of jets, tanks and helicopters, as
well as in diesel engines of trucks and in fuel cell systems that are expected
to be found on the battlefield of the future.  The fuel must also meet
military safety requirements for flammability. Recent tests on Syntroleum
fuels indicate that synthetic fuels can meet all of these requirements.

    As the US Army transforms itself into a lighter, more mobile force, a
single battlefield fuel could play a key role for one simple reason:  About
70% of the bulk tonnage needed to sustain the military during a conflict is
fuel.  Currently the military must move and store several types of fuels.
Using a single fuel would simplify logistics and reduce total tonnage moved.

    "We believe that the 21st Century Truck Program is going to have a big
impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of not only the US military, but
on US industry as well," stated Agee.  "Over 80% of the nation's freight is
moved by trucks that consume over 42 billion gallons of fuel each year.  Since
the 1973 oil embargo, essentially all of the increase in US highway fuel
consumption has been due to trucks. So improvements in fuel economy and
emissions in this vital industry will pay substantial dividends to the US
economy."