UKDI has launched a new Tactical Power Challenge on behalf of the British Army and with support from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The challenge seeks innovative solutions to improve the generation, storage, distribution and management of electrical power for deployed forces. The activity is being delivered in partnership with Australia’s Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA).
Technologies ranging from advanced energy storage and rapid charging to novel power generation systems are being sought.
Modern military operations rely increasingly on electrically powered capabilities, including communications systems, uncrewed systems, sensors, electronic warfare equipment, counter-UAS technologies and edge computing. As operational power demands continue to rise, the Army is seeking innovative solutions that can provide flexible, resilient and deployable energy.
Innovative Tactical Power Solutions
Innovative Tactical Power is a two-stage funded competition seeking technologies currently at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 4 to 6 that can be developed into future tactical power capabilities. The amount of funding available is £2.45 million (ex-VAT).
Successful innovators will progress through a staged assessment process and may receive funding to mature and demonstrate their technologies, with project activity expected to conclude by March 2028.
Immediate Power Problem
Immediate Power is a non-funded market engagement activity seeking technologies that are already at TRL 6 or above and have the potential to address current operational requirements. This is a market engagement activity. Those that are of greatest interest may be invited by the Army to a demonstration opportunity in the UK (location likely to be Warminster, Wiltshire led by the Army’s Experimentation and Trials Group). There will only be one stage to this aspect of the challenge.
Submissions for both aspects of the challenge will be submitted into the same form and the challenge team will determine where your innovation is best suited . You will be notified of which aspect of the challenge your innovation was most appropriate for.
We want novel ideas to benefit end-users working in UK defence and security and we are interested in both whole systems and components. Your proposal should include evidence of:
- A reliable supply chain of components. It is preferred that solutions use technology and components manufactured in NATO and/or Five Eyes countries and/or Japan and South Korea however this should not stifle innovation. It is expected that any future procurement will have a greater focus on component sourcing in relation to sovereign manufacturing and supply chains.
- the potential for your innovation to be translated into a practical demonstration in a relevant environment
- innovation or a creative approach
- how the proposed work applies to any defence and/or security context
Any functionality enhancements will be looked on favourably, such as indicators for time remaining at current use.
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UKDI submissions are welcome from the private sector, academia and Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE’s). UKDI will examine the legal status of organisations prior to placement of any contract or agreement. In most cases there are no nationality restrictions, however UKDI individual competition documents will detail any necessary restrictions.
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The Australian and British Army in-service power generation systems do not support distributed and electrified force elements operating modern and future capabilities (such as Robotic Autonomous Systems (RAS), directed energy weapons, remote sensors, edge compute etc.). Current in-service solutions rely solely on combustible fuels and are heavy, bulky and noisy, and unable to meet the increasing demand. Where stored, electrical power (if available) is in the form of various commercial power banks bought individually and off-the-shelf. This is inconsistent, not based on a reliable supply chain for replacement and is not suitable to account for the planned capability and power increases of the future.
Experimentation conducted by both armies has identified a significant increase in the Watt hours (Wh) at the soldier, platoon and company levels as detailed in Table 1. Additionally, both armies have observed that after a short period of tactical action, the stored electrical power supply may require up to 12 hours of charge time; which is impractical. Additionally, generators cannot be used when moving. There are plans for power distribution from vehicles (such as from batteries, alternators or hybrid platforms) in the future, however this is not to be relied upon for the purpose of this challenge.
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In this challenge, innovations are sought that include but are not limited to:
- Safer chemistry for the same or improved energy density.
- High speed charging of equipment and recharge of batteries.
- Traditional and non-traditional means of providing electrical power.
- Enable silent running.
- Power provided at a small scale (on the person or localised) generation
Both whole systems and components are of interest.
Innovative Tactical Power Solutions aim to demonstrate capabilities by March 2028, that improve provision, storage, recharge, distribution and management of electrical power across the tactical battlespace.
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The solution shall support distributed operations and provide commanders with the ability to manage electrical power as a deployable commodity. The priority is speed of charging (fast charging) and signature management rather than optimising for efficiency. Solutions must enable rapid replenishment of power to support operational tempo and minimise downtime.
Power requirements:
Individual Soldier: 180 Wh / 24 hr
Platoon (~30): 69,000 Wh / day
Company (~110): 260,000 Wh / day; should be able to maintain essential operations up to 48hr without resupply
Company HQ (included in the Company figures): 50,000 Wh / day; 72 hours silent power without accessing the company’s central power management system
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Operational Requirements
- Battery chemistries that have high inherent safety and operating temp range (-10ºC to +40ºC).
- Fast charging and recharge of batteries.
- Power generation, storage, management and distribution functionality.
- Open architecture electrical, mechanical and software interfaces.
- Power monitoring (Wh (Voltage and current)) with exportable CSV data.
- Compatible with existing military equipment and connectors
- Usable by non-specialists and safe by design.
Power Generation Requirements
- Minimum 3kW continuous and 6kW peak output at company level.
- Preference for Generation from F-54 (diesel) but alternatives in scope if benefit outweighs logistical burden.
- Storage to have option to be powered by
- AC national grid power
- Inservice generators Field Electrical Power Supplies (FEPS), Lightweight Field Generator (LFG), Light and Power Distribution System (LAPDS)
Power Distribution Requirements – weighting to speed of charge over efficiency
- AC 230V 50Hz
- DC 24V & 12V
- USB-C PD (60W threshold, 100W objective)
Physical/environmental:
- IP67 protection for on the person equipment, ruggedised construction and operation from -10C to +40C.
- Generate and manage power within a NATO 1.2T trailer footprint.
- Individual modules can be assembled into the full system without need of tools in less than 10 mins.
- No single component greater than 80kg[2].
- Energy storage modules less than 20kg.
- On the soldier components less than 5kg.
- Minimum 1,000 recharge cycles and five-year service life.
- Resistant to mud, sand, immersion and transport shock in storage and use case.
Interface Requirements:
There are several standards being developed by NATO, the UK & AUKUS to enable interoperability. Demonstrators do not have to interface at tender, but must be able to achieve interface during development.
- Tactical Microgrid Standard based on US MIL-STAN 3071
- DEFSTAN 23-12 (Generic Soldier Architecture)
- NATO STANAG 4133 (Field Power)
- NATO STANAG 4695 (Dismounted Soldier Power Interface)
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We are not interested in proposals that:
- are Lithium-ion based solutions.
- are Power systems mounted on UGVs.
- result in Vendor lock-in for batteries, storage or software.
- constitute consultancy, paper-based studies or literature reviews which just summarise the existing literature without any view of future innovation
- are an unsolicited resubmission of a previous DASA or UKDI bid
- offer demonstrations of off-the-shelf products requiring no experimental development (unless applied in a novel way to the challenge)
- offer no real long-term prospect of integration into defence and security capabilities
- offer no real prospect of out-competing existing technological solutions
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A pre-recorded briefing webinar from UKDI is available on YouTube. Please watch the webinar before you submit any questions.
UKDI has a team of locally based Innovation Partners that can provide support in working with UKDI. If you are a UK businesses, SMEs, start-up, sole trader, academic institution or research organisation, it is strongly recommended that you contact your local Innovation Partner via the Contact UKDI form to discuss your idea for any aspect of this challenge.