We Needed it but Didn't Have it. Now it's 2013: Is Better Field Generation for DOD Here Yet?

Since this blog's inception, we've been calling for accelerating the work to improve the efficiency of field generators.  In the context of rising assaults (and many successful attacks) on fuel convoys in Afghanistan, here's a DEB post from 2009, referencing a similarly aligned point of view at NDIA, pleading for speed.

Now Federal News Radio covers a recent announcement that the Office of Naval Research (ONR) is getting closer to fielding a practical 10 kilowatt fuel cell generator.  Cumbersomely designated: "Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell Tactical Electrical Power Unit" the benefits jump right out are you:

• Require approximately half the fuel to generate the same output
• Much quieter
• Smaller - easier to transport

Drawbacks in include a longer start-up time, and almost certainly until production ramps up, higher acquisition costs.

But for sure, using the Fully Burdened Cost of Fuel (FBCF) metric will show these units are massively more cost effective over the full lifecycle.  And they'll save lives by requiring fewer and/or smaller convoys and by being harder to detect.

Unfortunately, despite the optimism from ONR, sounds to me like deployment may still be years off. I wonder if they can be better marketed to the private sector, hungry for better disaster preparedness and resiliency solutions in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Sandy and others.  That kind of market demand would could be a real expediter.  ... and perhaps a different name :)

Here's the full article.

Alternative Energy and the DOD Battlefield of the Future

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Plans and Programs, Sharon Burke shared a few mid 2013 insights in an interview published last week.  Here's an excerpt that signals more of the same ... and a subtle shift:

Status Quo

Though alternative energy use is increasing, the military will continue to depend heavily on petroleum.  "We do expect that we will continue to be a very petroleum-dependent force. Petroleum has an energy density and a universal availability that's very, very important for a military force," Burke said. "We have equipment in our arsenals that's designed to use liquid fuels that are going to be around for many decades." 

New Deal

But because energy diversity guidelines were added into the requirements and acquisition processes, Burke said she anticipates an increase in the implementation of tactical solar panels, fuel cells, flywheels, more efficient batteries and other energy-saving measures and practices in the future.

You can follow Ms. Burke on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/sharon.e.burke

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URL for Fed News Radio article:

http://www.federalnewsradio.com/394/3375799/Alternative-energy-key-to-DoDs-battlefield-strategy

Photo credit: Treehugger.com

In Certain Scenarios, DOD Would be Better Fueled by Fuel Cells

DOD needn't wait to start benefitting from new fuel cell capabilities, and three use cases in particular are the most promising for existing commercial fuel cell tech, according to a report just out from LMI:

1. Distributed power generation - as in for base load power, as well as heating and cooling needs, can  be provided by fuel cell systems. This gets you energy efficiency gains and reduced: operating costs, building energy intensity, and emissions
2. Backup power - here the benefits are improved reliability, lower maintenance, longer life, lighter weight, and lower emissions
3. Unmanned vehicles - aerial and otherwise. Improved capabilities like extended range, reduced maintenance, and more are are possible

Of course, all of these benefits add up to improved energy security: bases less dependent on their local grids and operational forces that can more readily power themselves without waiting for the next convoy to come over the pass.

It's not DOD's mission to develop or incubate new technologies.  Far from it. But arguably, by showing how young technologies can solve its specialized problems, it paves the way for broader applications, within and external to the military.

Click HERE to read the LMI report: Beyond Demonstration: The Role of Fuel Cells in DoD's Energy Strategy. Andy Bochman

Technology Focus: Storage Storage Storage

If this was the DOD IT Blog, the title might be referring to next gen holographic optical storage capable of storing 100 Terabytes of data in a device as big as a red blood cell. But it's not.

Of course the title refers to energy storage, considered by many to be the key enabling technology for grid-scale intermittent renewables like wind and solar. But storage also has important roles to play in smaller form factors, namely vehicles and man-portables.

To wit, here are three recent nuggets, culled from this week's traffic, for your consideration:

1. Energy Storage Challenge - "Energy storage is a particular concern for defence departments around the world for their bases, vehicles, vessels and soldiers in the field. So while we might all be able to benefit from the hard work of innovators working in this space, we note that the defence sector has traditionally been an early adopter of breakthrough technologies due to its unique needs and ability to explore emerging innovations, even if they are not cost competitive yet." We are happy to announce that ONR and ONRG of the US Navy have agreed to sponsor the winning prize for the winner of this 1st challenge with a $250K grant award. We thank ONR and ONRG for their vision and commitment to spur innovation in the energy storage field." Web site is still under construction but for more info contact "Simon Schneider at: schneider@energystoragechallenge.com
2. Lithium Ion batteries for DOD platforms - " Li-ion battery technology for non-hybrid vehicles for engine starting, lighting, ignition and silent-watch applications." Full article here
3. Fuel cell for mobile gadget charging - In new tech, sometimes the military leads, sometimes it follows, but most often it adopts stuff from the commercial sector and adapts accordingly. Such may be the case with new products such as this.

You may also be interested in this recent post on the fully burdened cost of batteries (FBCF).

Photo credit: Dean Johnson on Flickr

The View from Early 2010: Massive Energy Changes on the Way

When you watch something closely day to day it's difficult to discern difference. But as anyone who occasionally visits a young niece or nephew knows, those kids are changing rapidly. For some reason, after years of tracking the slow and steady evolution of various energy technologies, I've gotten the feeling over the last few weeks that our relatively static energy sector is in for a major growth spurt.

And for all the great work the DOD Energy community has done trying to help the Department be more proactive with how it manages its energy issues, policy progress will ultimately pale in comparison with the seismic shifts about to hit DOD and the rest of society. You may think this is hyperbole, but ...

I don't think so. While each of these technologies has a boat-load of attendant risk, and that risk comes in multiple flavors (e.g., technological, regulatory, business), all are setting an impressive baseline that's only going to improve and likely accelerate over time.

On top of continuing steady incremental technological improvements in solar, wind, Smart Grid and storage, each of these three categories of systems could dramatically change the energy landscape on its own. Combined, they'd totally remake our approaches to generating, transporting, consuming, and making money from energy:

1. Home power generation (see the Bloom Box)

2. City (and base-sized) power generation (see small nukes)

3. Electric Cars and V2G (see everywhere, including here)

Though we still have a long way to go figuring out how to power aircraft and most tactical vehicles in ways other than JP-8, the implications for rest of DOD are huge. This could be the beginning of the end for the brittle grid problem facing CONUS bases. Also consider the potential for expeditionary energy. Will be tracking it all right here. As we always say, stay tuned!

UAV Revolution update

Fresh from a great lecture last night on exponential rates of improvement in information systems by futurist Ray Kurzweil, and only 2 days remove from a post on the revolution in the performance and use of UAVs, I get a note in my inbox this morning. It's a press release announcing a new small UAV endurance record leveraging a breakthrough in fuel cell technology. Navy's ONR is a partner. Draw your own conclusions about where this is leading.

Without further adieu, here you go:

SMALL UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE COMPLETES RECORD 23-HOUR FLIGHT
USING PROTONEX FUEL CELL SYSTEM

DATELINE: SOUTHBOROUGH, MA; Protonex Technology Corporation (LSE: AIM: PTX and PTXU), a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power systems, today announced that the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), through a program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), has documented a flight endurance record on their small, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Ion Tiger, utilizing a highly advanced fuel cell system from Protonex. The Ion Tiger UAV flew for over 23 hours, setting an unofficial endurance record for fuel cell powered flight, driven by the latest generation of Protonex' UAV power system. The 23+ hour duration of the Ion Tiger flight far surpasses the longest previous small UAV flight achieved using any technology. By incorporating the Protonex power system, the Ion Tiger was able to demonstrate seven times the endurance capability of advanced batteries. The Protonex UAV system that was used in the Ion Tiger demonstration is a high performance, ultralight proton exchange membrane [PEM] fuel cell system, coupling stack technology that can achieve 1,000 watts per kilogram with advanced balance of plant components. With the successful completion of this major milestone, Protonex is planning to continue transitioning this advanced power source into small UAV products with specific payloads and mission requirements for both military and commercial applications. The endurance capabilities proven in this program were previously achievable only with larger scale, more costly UAVs. Protonex is now confident that new critical missions can be achieved by smaller, more cost-effective UAV platforms that incorporate its advanced power systems. "This impressive 23-hour record flight milestone represents yet another successful collaboration with the NRL and is a culmination of all of our combined efforts to date," stated Dr. Paul Osenar, Chief Technology Officer, Protonex. "We share the ONR's vision towards bringing quiet electric propulsion and long endurance to today's small UAVs and to extend the capability to the warfighter."

Convoy-Free Electricity Ready for Prime Time?

I'm not saying this company's solutions are ready to put old-fashioned field generators out of business. But I am suggesting that, for some applications, its mobile "Titan" and "Mojo," in individual and tandem configurations, begin to offer commanders a path away from the current, convoy-dependent status quo. Actually, with these solutions, unless the equipment is airlifted, one convoy is required to deliver the systems to station. But the beauty is, once it's on the job, it requires zero diesel or J-P8 to operate.

Had the chance to speak with an executive at mobile energy provider, White Door, and learned about the company's offerings and what these guys are up to. Founded 7 years ago to make self powered sensor platforms, mobile energy generation on a larger scale is now their goal ... and their offerings show they're beginning to reach it. Not only do these integrated wind, solar, battery and fuel cell systems provide reliable, nearly silent, low-heat signature power, they have a new unit that generates as much as 30 KW.

One potential weakness that would immediately give DOD planners pause would be the systems' dependency on intermittent energy sources. Well, it appears that White Door has tackled that problem. The executive said they purposely "over-engineer" each systems' energy storage, providing 5+ days of back-up capacity should the wind cease to blow and the sun cease to shine for that long. There's also an option for a fuel cell back-up should the 5-day capacity still cause concern.

The Marines are field testing these units right now. More info is available here.

Fuel Cells Light Up Gear While Lightening Soldiers' Loads

Back in October I noted that fuel cells thumped the competition at the Wearable Power competition held at  Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA. Though it was not the winner, California-based UltraCell Corp. competed in and successfully completed the DOD’s $1 million Wearable Power Prize, where they were one of only five companies to finish the Prize. In fact, the UltraCell team chose to compete with an already proven design and didn't do custom mods to reduce weight. That decision meant they came in heavier than the winner, but it also meant theirs was the closest to a field-able product.

Heavy batteries are currently being used in Iraq and Afghanistan to power everything from sensors to comm and computer gear and DOD knows it needs a light-weight alternative. Many soldiers hump 20-30 pounds worth of batteries alone. This is unacceptable. According to UltraCell, this technology weighs less than 3 pounds and offers a 70% weight savings for an average 72-hour mission in the field. DARPA, Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) and the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) are all playing a role. Sometimes the best things come in small packages.

Photo: An XX25 fuel cell powering an iRobot robot courtesy of Ultracell

Fuel Cells are the Wearable Winners

You gotta like the way DOD is ferreting out game-changing new energy tech these days. Read about who just won the million dollar prize for lightweight, mobile power sources for soldiers here. Details of the competition were listed on The DOD Energy Blog last week in this post.  Turns out fuel cells were the way to go ... if only you had known !!!

Wearable Power Prize Competition is On !!!

This is about new, small and survivable storage technology. Before I say more about this competition, I'll begin with my favorite Q&A from the  FAQ sheet:

Question: Are human-powered systems eligible?

Answer: No, the intent of this prize program is to supply power to the warfighter and not extract power from the warfighter.

Pretty funny for technical FAQ, don't you think? The final competition and live tests are happening right now.  Here are the details:

• Sponsor: Office of the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E)
  
• Total # of teams competing: 48 finalists from 15 countries
• Venue: Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, CA
• Prize money at stake: $1 million for first prize (plus smaller 2nd and 3rd place awards)
• Objective: To address the Defense Department’s need for long-endurance, lighter weight power systems for dismounted warfighters.
  
• Tech challenge: DoD launched the Wearable Power Prize in July, 2007 offering a one million dollar first prize for a wearable system that provides 20 Watts (avg) of electrical power for 96 hours, weighs less than 4 kilograms (8.8 pounds), attaches to a standard military vest, and operates autonomously.
• Sep 28 - Competition Begins: Competitors power-up their systems for a 92-hour power-production bench test in outdoor conditions
• Oct 4 - Final Competition: Teams surviving the bench test go head-to-head in the final 4-hour field test competition. Team members wear their prototypes as they power surrogate equipment in the final trial of the competition.