Lightweight Modular Hydrokinetic Turbine

Overview

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL) seeks solutions towards developing a lightweight modular hydrokinetic turbine. There is a need for further advancement of small-scale hydrokinetic devices to meet the warfighter’s requirements— lighter weight, optimized hydrofoils, smaller form factor, integration with the Squad Power Manager, etc. A total of up to $25,000 is available to make several awards.

Project Manager

Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (CERL), U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

Project Objective

The primary objective of this Individual Program Requirement (IPR) is to develop new solutions or advance existing partial solutions to satisfy operational requirements geared towards development of a light-weight hydrokinetic turbine. This will likely be accomplished by targeting areas including:

• Weight of the generator casing
• Materials assessment
• Hydrofoil optimization
• Power electronics optimization
• Anchoring approach/mechanisms

Background and Operational Scenarios

The generation and distribution of energy has always been essential to sustaining military operations. The sustainment and resilience of installations will depend on multiple sources of distributed energy generation technologies. There is a need within the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to increase energy source production in austere environments for the warfighter. 

ERDC-CERL has been working to assess the feasibility of small hydropower for the Department of Defense (DOD). The use case for this effort targets jungle environments where solar and wind are not dependable. The streams in these environments are typically smaller and slower. Recent work includes exploring a one-man carry system that packs in a ruck and outputs a minimum of 40 W and a one to two person carry system packable via pelican case targeting 500 W. 

Requirements

Based on the needs of DOD agencies, a list of requirements has been established for portable hydrokinetic devices. 

At a minimum, proposed prototypes must meet the following criteria:

• Small form factor – Ideally, the system will fit within the ruck the soldiers and marines are already carrying without adding a bunch of extra weight. Tradeoff = carrying this instead of additional BB2590 batteries
• Light-weight – The system needs to be a maximum of 30 lb and ideally lighter. Two-man carry less than 70 lbs but should target 30-40 lb. 
• Power output minimum 40W and target 500W
• Power electronics – Target integration with soldier equipment (SPM-622) and soldier batteries (BB2590s are most common)

Ideally, prototypes designs would also address the following requirements:

• Low-flow operation – Operate in a minimum of 1 m/s flow and 18” depth water
• Rapidly deployed and retrieved – The system needs to be set up and retrieved in less than 30 minutes.
• Debris shedding – The system needs to be durable and low-maintenance so that it sheds debris when deployed and requires no human intervention to clear.
• Concealable – The unit needs to blend in with its surroundings
• Durable – The system should consist of durable components that are easy to replace. Adhere to MIL-STD-810G 516.6 Test Method.
• Anchoring – Needs to be easy to set up and hold it in place for ~6-8 hours minimum

Note: Submissions should NOT include confidential or proprietary details.

Estimated Government Funding Profile

Up to $25,000 is currently available for this effort to target hardening an existing design prototype or conceiving a new design that satisfies the requirements. 

*Multiple solutions may be awarded with these funds

Estimated Period of Performance

Estimated 6 months from date of award

Expected Result

The expected result will be a delivered prototype that may not satisfy all requirements but should include a planned path to achieve the targets. At a minimum, the physical deliverable (prototype) should address scale and weight, power output, and integration with soldier batteries.

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be reviewed based on the criteria described in ERDC’s CSO Solicitation document by ERDC subject matter experts. Submissions may be shared as appropriate with other ERDC stakeholders. The government has the authority to decline all submitted proposals. The government does not plan to engage in the debrief process outlined in FAR part 15 but will provide feedback to unsuccessful offerors as appropriate and at its discretion.

Notional Project Schedule

Proposed project milestones include:

May 1, 2025	Project Announced, Submissions Open
May 26, 2025	Question Period Ends, FAQs Finalized
June 2, 2025	Submissions Close
June 2-16, 2025	ERDC Evaluation Period, Virtual Pitch Hosted (if needed)
June 17-July 18, 2025	ERDC Downselects and Requests Full Proposal (if needed)
July-August 2025	Participants Selected are Notified by ERDC

*Dates may vary to accommodate project team and participant availability. The government may accelerate the pre-proposal review/feedback timeline, and therefore also require earlier delivery of full proposals.

Project Security Classification

Unclassified