N112-147 TITLE: Person-Portable Micro-Hydropower System

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Ground/Sea Vehicles

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: OASN(EI&E) - Energy (Non-ACAT)

OBJECTIVE: Develop a person-portable micro-hydropower system to provide electrical power in support of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, as well as provide power for remote locations and forward operating bases.

DESCRIPTION: Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations, forward operating bases, and remote camps and communities require electrical power. The use of traditional petroleum fueled generator in these sistuations is often problematic due to costly or limited fuel availability. Where flowing water (rivers, streams, creeks, etc) is available, hydropower provides a simple, cost-effective, sustainable energy solution. While the technology exists to provide small, hydropower systems for use in civil and military applications, complete systems are not necessarily optimized for easy transport, setup, and use in remote locations. Therefore, this topic seeks innovative micro-hypower designs and technologies that possess the following characteristics: (1) person-portable tansportable as component modules in packages weighing no more than 80 pounds; (2) rapid setup (<1 day, 1 man) of components and complete hydropower system using manual tools; (3) effective operation in widest range of water flow categories; (4) maintenance-free operation regardless of water-borne debris and variation in water flow; (5)minimal environmental impact on water source and associated lands; and (6) minimal capital and operational costs. The system should be capable of providing a minimum of 500W of continuous electric power, peak system power up to 10kW (<60 seconds), and sustained power of 2kW for up to two hours. Power output could be direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) conditioned to power off-grid equipment of facilities, or be connected into a micro-grid. The system should contain all the parts and assemblies required to construct and operate the micro-hydropower systems, to include all electrical and water handling components needed to handle water inlet and outlet flows. A methodology to determine whether the flow and/or head requirements are present in any particular application is required. The methodology must be easy to use in the field in a remote location.

PHASE I: Design a person-portable micro-hydropower system. Develop a methodology for determining whether the sufficient head and/or flow is available to meet the system's requirements, and incorporate this into a dynamic system computer model to predict overall system performance under various water flow/head conditions. Demonstrate innovative technological improvements in system assembly, weight reduction, or component operation in a laboratory environment.

PHASE II: Develop a complete person-portable micro-hydropower system and demonstrate the complete system in a realistic environment. Conduct testing to provde feasibility over extended operating conditions, including varying flow/head conditions. Using measured data, determine the overall system and sub-system efficiencies and validate the dynamic computer model. Prepare a system analysis with recommended improvements.

PHASE III: Develop and install a complete person-portable micro-hydropower system package for use in a remote access location.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: This system would have application to both remote civilian and military off-frid applications where flowing water is present. It would be used in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations by non-governmental organizations, military, and civilian governments.

REFERENCES:
1. http://hydropower.inel.gov/hydrofacts/index.shtml

2. http://www.hydro.org/hydrofacts//factsheets.php

3. http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/hydropower_resources.html

4. http://www.builditsolar.com/projects/hydro/canadamicrohydroguide.pdf

KEYWORDS: hydropower: hydro-electricity; hydro-turbines; penstock; flume; flow-rate

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between April 26 and May 25, 2011, you may talk directly with the Topic Authors to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting May 26, 2011, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the DoD's SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (11.2 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 11.2 topic under which they are proposing.

If you have general questions about DoD SBIR program, please contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at (866) 724-7457 or email weblink.