Persistent, Geochemically-Driven Low-Temperature Power Systems for Subsea Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

STTR topic DON27TZ02-NV010 (U.S. Department of Defense – Navy), Phase I and II. Open to U.S. small businesses; STTR projects partner with a U.S. research institution. Opens: December 2, 2026. Closes: January 6, 2027. The Department of the Navy’s expanding operational requirements in the Arctic domain demand persistent subsea situational awareness. Current seabed ISR nodes and Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) docking stations rely on conventional lithium-chemistry batteries. These legacy power sources present severe logistical and operational limitations: they suffer from rapid capacity degradation in extreme cold, possess highly toxic/hazardous chemistries, and require frequent, resource-intensive physical replacement (battery swapping) in highly contested or ice-covered environments. To achieve persistent, logistics-free ISR, the Navy has a critical need for an environmentally benign, deploy-and-forget power architecture. This STTR topic seeks the development of Seafloor Electrochemical Power Harvesters to generate continuous electrical current by exploiting the natural oxidation-reduction (redox) potential difference between the anoxic marine sediment (mud) and the oxygenated overlying seawater. The proposed approach must demonstrate a credible path to 5W power and 24-month endurance in sub-zero Arctic conditions through a ruggedized seabed electrochemical power-harvesting architecture that maximizes long-term energy extraction while using only indigenous sediment microbial communities and naturally occurring geochemical gradients. Proposed solutions may use abiotic or biologically mediated mechanisms via electrode design, power management, and optimum emplacement. Biocatalytic Prioritization & Environmental Strictures: While purely abiotic electrochemical approaches will be considered, approaches that leverage biologically-mediated processes (e.g., utilizing natural biocatalysis to enhance electron transfer at the anode) will be prioritized due to their…