DAF awarded the agreement to Mainspring Energy through the Tradewinds Solutions Marketplace, which streamlines vendor procurement by prioritizing innovation, scalability, and mission impact. The project is a joint effort between the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance (AF OEA), the Air Force Civil Engineer Center's energy directorate, and the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron.
The core risk being addressed is supply chain fragility. Reliance on a single fuel type — whether natural gas or any other — creates exposure to price volatility, availability disruptions, and evolving regulatory standards. A generator designed to switch between fuel types removes that dependency without requiring capital reinvestment in new equipment as the energy landscape changes.
"DAF's reliance on any single fuel type presents a supply chain risk. A generator capable of running on multiple fuel types reduces vulnerability to fluctuating fuel standards, availability, or price shifts, providing resilience without the need for costly equipment replacement." — Kirk Phillips, Director, Air Force Office of Energy Assurance
The multi-fuel approach also future-proofs the hardware. As hydrogen infrastructure expands and biomethane availability grows, the generator can adapt operationally rather than requiring replacement — a meaningful consideration for long-cycle capital planning at federal facilities.
To bypass traditional procurement barriers, AF OEA leveraged 10 USC 4022 prototyping authorities, an alternative contracting mechanism designed to fast-track defense energy solutions. The approach aligns with Executive Order 14265 on modernizing defense acquisitions, and with EOs 14154 and 14156, which direct federal agencies to expand domestic energy flexibility and strengthen infrastructure for mission readiness.
The use of Tradewinds — rather than a standard FAR-based procurement — reflects a broader DoD shift toward outcome-based acquisition for energy resilience technologies.
The prototype phase will generate performance data across all six fuel types, including fuel efficiency, power output, consumption, and emissions for each. That data is expected to inform broader adoption decisions across other DoD installations — a potential inflection point for multi-fuel generation moving from concept to operational standard.
"The Air Force is leading the way in energy resilience, and this demonstration could accelerate critical capability adoption across the DoD."
— Adam Simpson, Co-founder & Chief Commercial Officer, Mainspring Energy
