Homegrown Power Could Keep The Army Running If War Cuts Off Foreign Fuel

American companies are building batteries, hydrogen drones and homegrown fuel that could keep U.S. troops powered if a war cuts off foreign supply.

Companies showed off their equipment at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting, which ended Oct. 14. Attacks on merchant ships around the Strait of Hormuz had hit their highest point since the Iran war began, Reuters reported Oct. 14, citing independent data.

“The days of secure and predictable logistics environments are over,” Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, director of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), said at the 2026 Defense Logistics & Energy Summit in September, according to an agency news release. He added that energy and fuel “will be high-value targets and decisive factors in operational success.”

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment Jordan Gillis told a House Armed Services subcommittee in March that in the Indo-Pacific “fuel logistics and vulnerable island locations present unique energy challenges,” according to his written testimony.

“From March-September 2026, DLA Energy purchased approximately 2.17 billion gallons of fuel, primarily to support the Department of War, and sold approximately 122.7 million gallons to support the U.S. Army,” the DLA’s energy arm said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“DLA Energy’s global posture allows the agency to adapt to market shifts and geopolitical events, ensuring security in the supply of fuels,” the agency added. “Fuels are sourced close to the location of the requirement to meet Warfighter demands.”

GM Defense, a General Motors subsidiary, showed a prototype of its EPIQ Hybrid at the meeting. The system pairs a battery with a generator to cut heat and noise in remote areas, according to a company release.

Diesel generators “consume a lot of diesel, and diesel is a risk in a logistical environment,” a GM Defense representative told the DCNF at the company’s booth.

In the company’s setup, the generator charges the battery and then shuts off so the battery can carry the load, he added.