N251-022 TITLE: High Energy Density Synthetic Fuel Development
OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Advanced Materials;Hypersonics;Renewable Energy Generation and Storage
The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.
OBJECTIVE: Synthesize a novel liquid hydrocarbon fuel or generate a synthetic fuel blend with a higher volumetric energy density than JP-10, which maintains a flashpoint above 60 °C and viscosity below 200cSt at -40 °C.
DESCRIPTION: There is a mission critical need for increased range in gas turbine powered cruise missiles. The proposer should develop a scalable process for high energy density fuel synthesis and provide a cost analysis for commercial scale production. The fuel properties must be characterized to demonstrate net heat of combustion exceeding that of JP-10. High energy density fuel will improve the range of current and future airbreathing propulsion systems.
To minimize environmental impact, renewable solutions are highly encouraged and potential toxicology issues should be considered for maritime use.
PHASE I: Design and develop a proof of concept, production, and delivery of 250 mL of fuel to Navy lab. The Phase I effort will include prototype plans to be developed under Phase II.
PHASE II: Produce and deliver of 100 gallons (378.54 L) of fuel to a Navy lab. Perform a cost analysis of fuel production at designated production levels.
PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Design and cost a large-scale production facility capable of meeting yearly Department of Defense needs.
Fuels developed through this SBIR topic may have utility for rocket propulsion. Chemical byproducts may have utility as lubricants and polymer precursors.
REFERENCES:
1. "MIL-DTL-87107E: Detail specification: Propellant, high density synthetic hydrocarbon type, grade, JP-10". Department of the Air Force, 12-Jan-2012. http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL-SPECS-MIL-DTL/MIL-DTL-87107E_40053/
2. Burdette, G. W. "Liquid Hydrocarbon Air Breather Fuel." U.S. Patent No. 4,410,749 - October 18, 1983. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/4410749
3. Myers, Jr.; H. K. and Schneider, A. "Isomerization of Endo-Endo Hexacyclic Olefinic Dimer of Norbornadiene." U.S. Patent No. 4,222,800 - September 16, 1980. https://ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/4222800
4. Chung, H. S.; Chen, C. S. H.; Kremer, R. A.; Boulton, J. R. and Burdette, G. W. "Recent developments in high-energy density liquid hydrocarbon fuels." Energy & Fuels, 13(3), 1999, pp. 641-649. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ef980195k
KEYWORDS: High Density Fuels; Synthesis; Propulsion; JP-10; Hydrocarbons; Jet Fuel
** TOPIC NOTICE ** |
The Navy Topic above is an "unofficial" copy from the Navy Topics in the DoD 25.1 SBIR BAA. Please see the official DoD Topic website at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/submissions/solicitation-documents/active-solicitations for any updates. The DoD issued its Navy 25.1 SBIR Topics pre-release on December 4, 2024 which opens to receive proposals on January 8, 2025, and closes February 5, 2025 (12:00pm ET). Direct Contact with Topic Authors: During the pre-release period (December 4, 2024, through January 7, 2025) proposing firms have an opportunity to directly contact the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) to ask technical questions about the specific BAA topic. Once DoD begins accepting proposals on January 8, 2025 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 January 22, at 12:00 PM ET, proposers may submit written questions through the DoD 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. DoD Topics Search Tool: Visit the DoD Topic Search Tool at www.dodsbirsttr.mil/topics-app/ to find topics by keyword across all DoD Components participating in this BAA.
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| 1/19/25 | Q. | The 60% RJ5/40% JP10 mixture in Ref 2 appears to meet your listed requirements. It's not clear whether the Norbornadiene dimer in Ref 3, or those fuels discussed in Ref 4 meet the requirements, but they surely improve upon the energy density of JP10. Why not use one of these options? |
| A. | We are looking for a fuel or fuel blend with a higher volumetric energy density than JP-10 which maintains a flashpoint above 60°C and viscosity below 200cSt at -40°C. This SBIR may result in establishing or re-establishing a commercial supplier for chemicals mentioned in reference documents. | |
| 1/19/25 | Q. | Can you place priority levels on the requirements?
It seems the key goal is scalability. So, a fuel with a moderate improvement in volumetric energy density that can be made cheaply in large quantities is superior to a fuel with dramatic volumetric energy density improvements that is expensive and difficult to scale up. Further, I would expect that the flashpoint and viscosity requirements are keys to maintaining operability in existing systems, so the moderately improved energy density fuel would again win out if it can be used as a drop-in to existing systems and the dramatically improved energy density fuel cannot. Are these interpretations accurate? Finally, you mention “renewable solutions are highly encouraged, and potential toxicology issues should be considered.” Where do “renewable” and “toxicology” fall among the other requirements of scalability, cost of production, energy density, viscosity, and flashpoint? |
| A. | The priority is volumetric energy density and safety (not explosive, flashpoint). Production is critical to having a supply to support testing and transition of the fuel to the fleet. If the energy density improvement is exceptional, cost may be less important. There is not an explicit requirement for a renewable fuel, but such a solution may have a better path to manufacturability based on domestically available precursor chemicals. Toxicity of the fuel will be important for fleet transition. We do not prioritize this for Phase 1 but there is an expectation that chemicals which are known to be highly toxic (like monomethylhydrazine) are avoided. | |
| 1/19/25 | Q. | I interpret “250ml of fuel” and “100gal of fuel” to mean any blend or pure substance, including blends where JP10 is a substantial component. So a 90/10 blend of JP10/synthesized fuel would technically meet the first requirement, as long as that blend had higher volumetric energy density than pure JP-10, maintained a flashpoint above 60 °C and viscosity below 200cSt at -40 °C. Same logic for “100 gal of fuel.” Is this accurate? |
| A. | Yes this is accurate though there is no requirement to use JP-10 as a blend component. |