Heather D. Willauer (born 1974) is an American analytical chemist and inventor working in Washington, D.C., at the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). Leading a research team, Willauer has patented a method for removing dissolved carbon dioxide (CO) from seawater, in parallel with hydrogen (H) recovered by conventional water electrolysis. Willauer is also searching to improve the catalysts required to enable a continuous Fischer–Tropsch process to recombine carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen gases into complex hydrocarbon liquids to synthesize jet fuel for Navy aircraft.
Especially significant for the Navy is the possibility of maintaining naval air operations in remote areas without depending too much on long-distance transport of jet fuel across oceans. The Navy is also studying the feasibility of constructing on-shore facilities capable of synthesizing kerosene from hydrogen and CO, both extracted from seawater constituents. Because of the very high electrical power required by water electrolysis to produce considerable amounts of hydrogen, nuclear power plants or ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) are necessary to fuel the industrial installations built on-shore on remote islands close to the sea in strategic locations.