High fuel prices can be mitigated by this nanocomposite treatment

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Keep Hawaiʻi talent in Hawaiʻi — a statement that a Honolulu-based research and development center continues to prove with innovations that positively impact local residents.

Oceanit recently showcased technology that could maximize fuel transportation, cut down production time and reduce prices.

“The big problem in the U.S. — and it affects Hawaiʻi — is that the U.S. is producing a lot of natural gas right now, but they’re constrained on how to take that gas and transport it to export facilities,” said Matthew Sullivan, the director of product at Oceanit.

With DragX, Sullivan said the nanocomposite treatment can reduce corrosion build-up, scaling and fouling inside of pipelines — ultimately allowing for increased supply and reduced prices.

It was originally developed with support from the U.S. Navy around 2006, Sullivan said. The company was looking into nanotechnology applications for Navy ships and their maintenance in Pearl Harbor.

“We got support from different members of the Hawaiʻi delegation as well as the Navy to do this and experimented with a whole number of different applications,” he said.

One of those applications ended up being for pipelines.

What does this mean for Hawaiʻi?

As an island chain, residents are reliant on imported fuel and subject to high fuel prices.

“So what we’re doing is applying DragX to reduce the internal drag or friction to allow them to pump more gas, more gas products through these pipelines. So if we can be successful at this, it should increase the gas supply and reduce the gas price, at least for domestic gas in the US,” Sullivan said.

Global oil flow could be improved due to this technology, stabilizing both supply and price changes.

“From the macro perspective, from the top down, thinking about the Hawai’i economy writ large, this is really a metaphor or something that Hawaiʻi or people in Hawaiʻi can do that has national and global impact,” said economist Paul Brewmaker.

Hawaiʻi’s economy

Brewmaker discussed the history of Hawaiʻi’s economy, and the large parts both the military and tourism have played.

He added that Hawaii’s economy has grown over the last 30 to 50 years, creating new economic opportunities in technology and innovation.

“It starts in one part of the economy. You develop a concept or a technology that ends up being applicable across the board in a lot of different areas,” Brewmaker said.

He reflected on what Oceanit has done with DragX: the product that began as a military application and is now being developed for new areas 20 years later.

“I think if anything, this project demonstrates that we can do this from Hawaii and this is possible,” Sullivan added. “Oceanit’s not an outlier; we’re one of many companies doing this here. But a lot of people don’t know that.”

For more information on the technology and to learn what Oceanit does, visit Oceanit’s website.

This story was written by Carley Matsumura for KHON2 and published on June 12, 2026.

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