The Defense İnnovation Unit has issued a solicitation for commercial rechargeable batteries suited for small unmanned aerial systems, or sUAS, operating in diverse missions. Potential contractors have to be compliant with Section 154 of the National Defense Authorization Act imposing new constraints on Department of Defense purchase of China-made batteries, DIU said.
Contractor Transparency Requirement
The solicitation requires materials sourcing transparency in the proposals, including information on country of origin for the batteries’ active electrode materials. The proponents also have to disclose their battery production sites and battery licenses and licensors.
At the minimum, proponents must have a pilot production line with a capacity in the tens to hundreds of megawatt hours per year. DIU’s specific requirements for the sUAS batteries’ energy cell include 290 watt-hour per kilogram of gravimetric energy density and 180 Wh/kg of specific energy density.
Safety Design Features Specifications
The proposals have to specify the batteries’ cell-level safety design features, such as non-flammable components and cell chemistry characteristics. The solicitation also requires aspiring contractors to submit international safety certifications.
DIU encourages partnership arrangements on proposals from non-traditional entrepreneurs, manufacturers or defense system integrators operating battery laboratories. An other transaction agreement for prototyping the sUAS batteries may ensue from the solicitation, which may eventually lead to a production contract without further competition, DIU said.
The deadline for the submission of proposals is Jan. 9, 2025.
