Advanced Reserve Power Source Technologies

SBIR topic DAF27BZ01-DV013 (U.S. Department of Defense – Air Force), Phase I and II. Open to U.S. small businesses. Opens: October 28, 2026. Closes: November 25, 2026. Power source performance in terms of power and energy density is the major objective with affordability, safety, and reliability secondary objectives of Air Force Armament Directorate programs for advanced reserve power sources for weapon systems. Secondary objectives are not distant relative to the major objective, but power and energy density is emphasized in order to enable new concepts and integration strategies. Current reserve thermally activated battery technology is at risk of becoming obsolete due to increasing specific power and specific energy requirements, while other battery technologies with similar or greater specific energy suffer from multiple failure modes, have limited storage life, or have not been tailored to meet the unique requirements for Air Force weapon programs. An advanced reserve power source lasting 20+ years without the need for maintenance or significant energy loss while in storage, is reliable, and is inherently safe, e.g. is not susceptible to thermal runaway, is required. Weapons typically have storage lifetimes of 20+ years; and must maintain reliable operation at any point within this time period without the power source being inadvertently activated. When the power source is activated, it must rise to full voltage within 600 ms and have an activated life of 5+ minutes. The power source must be able to survive shock, vibration, and temperatures (MIL-HDBK-310 1% Hot/ 1% Cold Days, worldwide) associated with external and internal carriage, high speed free flight, and storage environments. The power source will be required to provide power for weapon avionics, guidance, and ordnance initiation events for the entire flight profile. The load on the power source must be capable of periods of pulse power with an average 2.5 kW/kg minimum and a goal to exceed 5 kW/kg…