DON26BZ05-DV084 TITLE: DIRECT TO PHASE II: Innovative Flexible Fuel Cell Design
OUSW (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Contested Logistics Technologies (LOG)
COMPONENT TECHNOLOGY PRIORITY AREA(S): Sustainment
PROJECTED CMMC LEVEL REQUIREMENT: Level 2 (Self)
OBJECTIVE: Develop and evaluate innovative fuel cell materials and processes to produce Class A, Type I crashworthy self-sealing fuel cells compliant with MIL-DTL-27422F.
DESCRIPTION: The Department of the Navy (DON) is seeking flexible fuel cell construction solutions that will meet MIL-DTL-27422F requirements for Class A Type I fuel cells. The DON is seeking advanced manufacturing processes, procedures, materials and technology that contribute to the fast production of fuel cells (weeks not months) while having low defects, reworks, and maintaining flexibility and quality.
Modern manufacturing processes and techniques shall be used to ensure the fuel cell remains lightweight, pliable, and foldable to facilitate installation into airframe structural cavities while providing sufficient performance to withstand crash impact loads at velocities of 65 feet per second. The self-sealing solution shall be capable of operating at temperatures down to -40°F and pressures of 1.5 psi.
Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by 32 U.S.C. § 2004.20 et seq., National Industrial Security Program Executive Agent and Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) formerly Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor and/or subcontractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances. This will allow contractor personnel to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and NAVAIR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material during the advanced phases of this contract IAW the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), which can be found at Title 32, Part 2004.20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
PHASE I: For a Direct to Phase II topic, the Government expects that the small business would have accomplished the following in a Phase I-type effort and developed a concept for a workable prototype or design to address, at a minimum, the basic requirements of the stated objective above. The below actions are required to satisfy the requirements of Phase I:
Availability of material level-data and defined proof of concept for fuel cell construction designs and/or applications validating the concept.
FEASIBILITY DOCUMENTATION: Offerors interested in participating in Direct to Phase II must include in their response to this topic Phase I feasibility documentation that substantiates the scientific and technical merit and Phase I feasibility described in Phase I above has been met (i.e., the small business must have performed Phase I-type research and development related to the topic NOT solely based on work performed under prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR/STTR work) and describe the potential commercialization applications. The documentation provided must validate that the proposer has completed development of technology as stated in Phase I above.
PHASE II: The Phase II approach shall align with qualification activities outlined in MIL-DTL-27422F, prioritizing crash impact, performance, gunfire performance, and flexibility evaluations. Material coupons, panels, and cube(s) shall be produced. Testing shall be performed to demonstrate and validate that the technology, materials, and processes meet the requirements defined in MIL-DTL-27422.
Work in Phase II may become classified. Please see note in Description paragraph.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Scale up the technology to produce aircraft-representative articles and validate compliance with MIL-DTL-27422F testing for a rotary platform.
Technology developed under this topic can be applied to joint services, as well as foreign Military Sales, and could be implemented into commercial aircraft as well. FAA requirements are less stringent than military requirements, therefore providing a safer product that could be implemented into commercial applications.
REFERENCES:
KEYWORDS: Fuel Cell; Fuel Bladder; MIL-DTL-27422; Crashworthy; Manufacturing; Flexible
TPOC 1 : Nathan Tenney
(240) 434-5360
nathan.l.tenney2@us.navy.milTPOC 2 : Gabrielle Ball
(301) 342-9206
gabrielle.ball@navy.mil
** TOPIC NOTICE ** |
The Navy Topic above is an "unofficial" copy from the Navy Topics in the DoW FY-26 Release 5 SBIR BAA. Please see the official DoW Topic website at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/solicitation-documents/active-solicitations for any updates. The DoW issued its Navy FY-26 Release 5 SBIR Topics pre-release on August 5, 2026 which opens to receive proposals on August 26, 2026, and closes September 23, 2026 (12:00pm ET). Direct Contact with Topic Authors: During the pre-release period (August 5, through August 25, 2026) proposing firms have an opportunity to directly contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) to ask technical questions about the specific BAA topic. The TPOC contact information is listed in each topic description. Once DoW begins accepting proposals on August 26, 2026 no further direct contact between proposers and topic authors is allowed unless the Topic Author is responding to a question submitted during the Pre-release period. DoD On-line Q&A System: After the pre-release period, until September 9, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET, proposers may submit written questions through the DoW On-line Topic Q&A at https://www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/login/ by logging in and following instructions. In the Topic Q&A system, the questioner and respondent remain anonymous but all questions and answers are posted for general viewing.
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