N103-194 TITLE: High Efficiency Renewable Energy System

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles, Materials/Processes, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Ground Transportation and Engineer Systems - PM Expeditionary Power Systems

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this topic is to develop a 5-10kW HMMWV towable trailer mounted renewable system. This system should overcome the short comings of existing renewable trailers and have a high renewable efficiency, low deployment foot print, be rapidly deployable, and reliable for power 24 hours/day regardless of environmental conditions.

DESCRIPTION: There is a need within the DoD to reduce the dependence on oil based power. This need has been emphasized by the current conflict with 80% of casualties occurring during resupply convoys. Reducing the number of convoys delivering fuel and water to the front line is critical. Renewable energy is one way to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, renewable energy is bulky, hard to deploy, takes a significant foot print to deploy, and has a long pay back time with regards to weight, volume and cost. Previous attempts to fit a continuous 3kW renewable energy system on a HMMWV towable trailer, such as the DREAMS system, was met with limited success only achieving around 2kW of continuous power. This system also suffered from the numerous problems stated above and the cost of the system prevented full scale deployment.

This topic is looking for development efforts related to building a HMMWV towable renewable energy system that requires minimal space outside the trailer to deploy. This topic seeks innovative scientific and engineering solutions. Of particular interest are initiatives with a clear business case. Proposals should specifically describe the technology that will be applied to solve the problem, how it will be developed, what the estimated benefits will be and how it might be transitioned into the DoD. Of primary interest to this topic are the following areas (but not limited to):
1. Solar reflective technology that focuses light to a Stirling engine based technology (>25% conversion efficiency)
2. Hybridization, power management and controls of renewable energy (>90% conversion efficiency)
3. Advanced JP8 fuel based energy generation to support loads during poor renewable conditions. (>35% conversion efficiency)
4. Advanced energy storage systems (>200wh/kg)
5. Reduction in renewable energy weight and deployment size (>5kW of continuous renewable energy)

Both complete systems and component level developments will be considered under this topic. Component level developments must factor in integration related issues that could arise while operation in a trailer mounted renewable energy system.

PHASE I: At the completion of Phase I there shall be a detailed design, feasibility study, energy consumption models, technical characteristics, and a cost analysis of the design. Include a first order Return-On-Investment (ROI) analysis for implementation and estimate potential Total Ownership Cost (TOC) reduction. Establish Phase II performance goals and key developmental milestones.

PHASE II: Finalize the design and demonstrate a working prototype of the proposed system to a TRL 6. Perform laboratory tests to validate the performance characteristics established in Phase I. Develop a detailed plan and method of implementation into a full-scale application.

PHASE III: Implement the Phase III plan developed in Phase II. Prepare a manufacturing plan and marketing plan to sell this product to the government as well as the private sector. Make the necessary teaming arrangements with the manufacturers of the components used in this product.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Renewable energy is highly used in the private sector. A higher efficiency renewable energy system will have many applications. In addition all renewable energy systems are hybrid system with energy storage needs. These developments will also benefit the commercial sector by advancing the technology in these areas.

REFERENCES:
1. http://www.marcorsyscom.usmc.mil/sites/pmeps/

KEYWORDS: Renewable, solar, Stirling engine, power management, solar reflectors, solar tracking, batteries, fuel cells

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between July 20 and August 16, 2010, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting August 17, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the DoD's SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (10.3 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 10.3 topic under which they are proposing.

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