Atmospheric Water Generation - On the Move

This solicitation is part of the SBIR 24.1 Broad Agency Announcement. All supporting documents can be found at the link above.

February 07, 2024: Deadline for receipt of proposals no later than 12:00 p.m. ET

Application Portal: Topics and Topic Search (SITIS) (dodsbirsttr.mil)

N241-004: Atmospheric Water Generation – On The Move (AWG-OTM)

TECHNOLOGY AREAS:

None

MODERNIZATION PRIORITIES:

#AdvancedMaterials | #Sustainment & #Logistics

KEYWORDS:

#Water; #potable; #atmospheric; #energy; #extraction; #efficiency

OBJECTIVE:

Develop an Atmospheric Water Generation – On The Move (AWG-OTM) system in a form factor to occupy a limited footprint within the cargo space of a Utility Lightweight Tactical Vehicle (ULTV) and Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) with the ability to scale to support other operational units in multiple operational environments. The system shall be required to leverage Onboard Vehicle Power (OVP) or alternative power sources (e.g., solar or wind power generation) to produce 24 gallons of potable water over a period of 24 hours. The developed system shall incorporate the ability to “add-on” modules to separately purify and treat water from raw and brackish sources.

DESCRIPTION:

The USMC currently requires a portable, compact means to generate potable water at the point of need, with or without a water source, to sustain small teams for an extended duration in austere environments. As part of its future force modernization efforts, the Marine Corps seeks to deploy small, disaggregated units to locations where access to life-sustaining resources like water will be limited or unavailable. These units are to specifically support the U.S. Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) a form of expeditionary warfare that involves the employment of mobile, low-signature, naval expeditionary forces that operate from a series of austere, temporary locations.

Definitions:

Systems must meet Threshold requirements = (T)

It is highly desirable the system meet Objective requirements = (O)

·???????? Support an operational unit of four personnel (T=O)

·???????? Operate at a low temperature of 40°F (T); 35°F (O)

·???????? Produce NLT 12 gallons of potable water over a 12-hour period with a relative humidity range of 30-99% (T); 20-99% (O)

·???????? Can be powered by on-board vehicle power systems (T), or alternative energy sources (e.g., solar, batteries) (O), ensuring average and peak power draw does not exceed vehicle power requirements

·???????? Ensure levels of Toxic Industrial Chemicals (TICs) and Toxic Industrial Materials (TIMs) are within required limits (T=O)

·???????? Can fit, and be secured, in the intended light tactical vehicle (MRZR Diesel, Ultra Light Tactical Vehicle (ULTV), Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)) (T=O)

·???????? Provide Mineralization for taste (T=O)

·???????? Provide External potable water storage and purification (T=O)

·???????? Adhere to applicable MIL-STD 810 standards: Environmental, Shock and Vibration, Transportability (T=O)

·???????? Adhere to applicable MIL-STD-1472 standards: Weight, Lifting, Displays, Alarms (T=O)

·???????? Adhere to applicable TB MED-577 standards: Sanitary Control and Surveillance of Field Water Supplies (T=O)

·???????? Achieve complete system integration and integration with vehicle (T=O)

·???????? Achieve regulatory approval of water output

·???????? Operate from current or planned small unit conventional and alternative 28VDC power, and single-phase 120VAC, sources (T=O)

·???????? Require little to no maintenance and is intuitive to operate/appropriate for an incidental operator (does not require intensive training or certification) (T=O)

·???????? Reduce supported operational unit or supporting logistics unit’s demand for conventional petroleum fuel and fuel-burning generator operation in the purification of potable water and the distribution/transportation of potable water (TB MED-577) supplies via ground or air delivery. (T=O)

PHASE I:

Develop concepts for AWG-OTM systems that meet the requirements described above. Demonstrate the feasibility of the concepts in meeting Marine Corps requirements. Establish that the concepts can be developed into a useful product for the Marine Corps. Feasibility will be established by material testing and analytical modeling, as appropriate. Provide a Phase II development plan with performance goals and key technical milestones, and that addresses technical risk reduction.

PHASE II:

Develop 3-5 prototype AWG-OTM systems for evaluation to determine their capability in meeting the performance goals defined in the Description. Demonstrate technology performance through prototype evaluation and modeling over the required range of parameters. Evaluation results will be used to refine the prototype into an initial design that will meet Marine Corps requirements; and for evaluation to determine its effectiveness in an operationally relevant environment approved by the Government. Prepare a Phase III development plan to transition the technology to Marine Corps use. The technology should reach TRL 6/7 at the conclusion of this phase.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS:

Support the Marine Corps in transitioning the technology for Marine Corps use. Support the Marine Corps for test and validation to certify and qualify the system for Marine Corps use. The prototypes shall be TRL 8 at the conclusion of testing.

Commercial applications may include, but not be limited to: humanitarian aid, disaster relief, homeland security, emergency services, recreation, and automotive applications.

REFERENCES:

1.???? “MIL-STD-810H, Department of Defense Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests.” 31 January 2019. https://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-0800-0899/MIL-STD-810H_55998/

2.???? ?

”MIL-STD-1472H, Department of Defense Design Criteria Standard: Human Engineering.” 15 September 2020. https://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-1400-1499/MIL-STD-1472H_57041/

3.???? ?

“TB MED 577, Technical Bulletin Sanitary Control and Surveillance of Field Water Supplies.” 1 May 2010. https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/tbmed577.pdf

4.???? ?

“Drinking Water, on Demand and from Air.” Defense Advanced Research and Projects Agency. 12 December 2019. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2019-12-12#:~:text=DARPA%E2%80%99s%20new%20Atmospheric%20Water%20Extraction%20%28AWE%29%20program%20sets,even%20in%20extremely%20dry%20areas%20of%20the%20world

5.???? UTV and ULTV Spec Sheet https://navysbir.com/n24_1/N241-004-REF-5-UTV_and_ULTV-Spec_Sheet.pdf

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TOPIC POINT OF CONTACT (TPOC):

None