Chris Tindal is the Assistant Director for the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) whose goal is to promote the development and commercialization of alternative jet fuel options that offer equivalent levels of safety and compare favorably on cost with petroleum based jet fuel, while also offering environmental improvement and security of energy supply for aviation. He helps to manage the coalition of CAAFI stakeholders and provide leadership and strategic guidance to CAAFI’s Work Teams, Federal government interagency initiatives, State and Regional programs, airport authorities, and International initiatives consistent with CAAFI priorities.
Chris is an Adjunct Professor on the faculty of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Queensland. In that role, Professor Tindal assists in exploring research and development opportunities for QUT, as well as investigating potential opportunities to establish commercial-scale biorefineries in the State of Queensland.
Chris received an appointment as the Strategic Biofutures Advisor to the State of Queensland. He provides a direct in-market connection between the Queensland Government and key industry stakeholders, both globally and domestically, but particularly within North America with a view to helping cement business relationships and projects for Queensland. The role was created to help identify and target strategic opportunities for North American-based biofutures organizations to establish operations in Queensland.
Chris is also a member of the Board of Directors for Advanced Biofuels USA, a nonprofit educational organization that advocates for the adoption of advanced biofuels as an energy security, military flexibility, economic development and climate change mitigation/pollution control solution. Advanced Biofuels USA encourages public understanding, acceptance, and use of advanced biofuels by promoting research, development and improvement of advanced biofuels technologies.
Chris retired as the Director for Operational Energy underneath the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Navy for Energy, where he was in charge of setting energy policy and direction for the Department of the Navy and promoting the adoption of alternative fuels and renewable energy resources. Additionally, he developed intergovernmental, international, and industry relationships throughout the energy field. He was the Navy leader of the pioneering U.S. Department of Agriculture/ U.S. Department of Energy/ U.S. Navy Alternative Fuels Initiative which developed programs to launch the advanced biofuels industry. In his role, Chris successfully led the Great Green Fleet effort, in which the U.S. Navy acquired and used 77 million gallons of F-76 alternative fuel blend for their ships in the Great Green Fleet deployment in 2016.
He has had the honor to be named in the peer-selected competition for the “Top 100 People in the Bioeconomy” Awards by the Biofuels Digest from 2013 through 2017.
Chris Tindal was a Navy man for over 40 years. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1980 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and served on Active Duty on two ships in Charleston, South Carolina. He retired as a Captain in the Navy Reserves in 2010. Chris is a Professional Engineer and a Certified Energy Manager. Originally from Alabama, Chris currently lives in South Carolina.