Kaneo’he Bay, HI and Yuma, AZ (March 19, 2025) - The first Hydrogen at the Tactical Edge of Contested Logistics (HyTEC) prototype systems have recently been delivered to Marine Corps units on Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) and Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma for operator testing and evaluation. The HyTEC project is a Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Marine Corps Expeditionary Energy Office (E2O), and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC PAC) partnership to produce hydrogen in austere environments, enabling mobile and disaggregated forces to persist.
“These HyTEC prototypes are the first electrolysis based hydrogen generation systems within the DoD designed to operate in an expeditionary environment using electrical energy from renewable sources, tactical generators, or tactical vehicles,” said David Lorio, DIU HyTEC Program Manager and contractor. “This hydrogen, produced at or near the point of use, will be used to operate fuel cell powered UAS, small tactical electrical generators, and weather and communication balloons.”
Zepher Flight Lab engineers training MWSS 371 Marines (Source: DIU Energy)
NovaSpark Energy and Zepher Flight Labs, who were awarded contracts in April 2024, each provided one prototype for training and evaluation. The HyTEC operator training demonstrated system interoperability as well as the hydrogen ecosystem and its applicability in a distributed and contested logistics environment.
Marines with Combat Logistics Company (CLC) 33 and Marine Wing Support Squadron (MWSS) 371 were trained on hydrogen basics, compressed hydrogen handling procedures and safety considerations, and the operation and maintenance of the HyTEC systems; including system setup, hydrogen generation and storage, and dispensing hydrogen into the smaller tanks used by the Naval Research Lab's (NRL) Hydrogen - Small Unit Power (H-SUP) fuel cell electric generator and Naval Air Systems Command’s (NAVAIR) Hydrogen Stalker Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
While in Kane’ohe Bay, the capabilities and interoperability of HyTEC, H-SUP, and the Hydrogen Stalker were demonstrated to organizations from academia, government, commercial industry, and investment firms at the Pacific Operational Science and Technology Field Experimentation (POST FX). The use of hydrogen in key applications leads to increased electrical efficiency and energy density, increased operational range, reduced thermal and audible signature, and reduced maintenance requirements; ultimately increasing lethality of the force and decreasing logistical sustainment requirements.