Expo Showcases Innovative Energy Technologies That Support Warfighters

The Pentagon today showcased more than 100 exhibits during the Energy Sentry - Pentagon: DoW's Energy Innovation Expo.

The War Department's six technology focus areas were multidomain mobility enhancements; contingency basing and installation energy resilience; battery energy, storage, power generation and distribution; nuclear energy; energy command, control and cybersecurity; and unmanned systems. The following are three examples.

Tactical Microgrid Standard

The Tactical Microgrid Standard program develops more efficient generators for soldiers in remote areas that use energy for such things as environmental control units, laundry units and tactical operating centers, said Pablo Ruiz, electrical engineer at Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Tactical Microgrid Standard teases out these efficiencies by allowing generators - often made by different manufacturers - to work together more easily and avoid vendor lock, Ruiz said, adding that the secret sauce is in the algorithm.

The algorithm also improves grid resiliency, fuel efficiency as well as other aspects of controllability like load shedding and load priority, he said.

Another benefit is that it lets generators with different voltages and frequencies operate together seamlessly and adjust power output only when needed, so nothing is wasted, Ruiz said.

Microwave Power Beaming

Microwave Power Beaming is about providing limitless power from space where energy is abundant to remote areas where energy is scarce, said Chris Rodenbeck, head of the Advanced Concepts Group, Radar Division, Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.

Space solar power beamed from satellites to Earth means troops anywhere in the world can have an unlimited energy supply, without the need for energy resupply, Rodenbeck said.

The technology is still in development, he said. Plans are to experiment in space in 2028 to convert sunlight to microwave energy with ground experiments planned between now and 2028.

Air Force Operational Energy

One goal of Air Force Operational Energy is to optimize legacy aircraft for efficiency by reducing drag, said Jacqueline Burns, Aircraft Optimization Division chief at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

For instance, one of these technologies is called Finlets. When placed on a C-130 transport aircraft, they reduce drag by 6% to 8%, which equates to 160 extra nautical miles on the same tank of fuel, Burns said.

Another example is Flight Film, an adhesive material with microgrooves that attaches to a C-130's outer skin, reducing surface friction and resulting in 4% drag reduction, she said.

A combination of these technologies reduces drag by about 10%, Burns noted, adding that her division is also working on other technologies.