Office of Naval Research (ONR) Navy and Marine Corps Department of Defense University Research-to-Adoption (DURA) Initiative

Federally Funded Research & Development Centers (FFRDCs), including Department of Energy National Laboratories, are not eligible to receive awards under this FOA. However, teaming arrangements between FFRDCs and eligible principal applicants are allowed so long as they are permitted under the sponsoring agreement between the Government and the specific FFRDC.

Navy laboratories, military universities, and warfare centers as well as other Department of Defense and civilian agency laboratories are also not eligible to receive awards under this FOA and must not submit either white papers or applications in response to this FOA. If any such organization is interested in the program described herein, the organization may contact Dr. Michele Anderson, michele.anderson1@navy.mil, to discuss potential projects. The subject line of the email shall read “N00014-18-S-F004 Potential Project Inquiry.” As with FFRDCs, these types of Federal organizations may team with eligible applicants that are submitting white papers under this FOA.

University Affiliated Research Centers (UARC) are eligible to submit white papers under this FOA unless precluded from doing so by their Department of Defense UARC contract.

Proposals may address one or both of the technical areas below. Each proposal shall consist of at least two (2) individual research projects and shall provide for the separate annual review of each project to assess its progress and continued viability. Proposed projects should be designed to be self-sustaining beyond the end of the period of performance to support the adoption aspect of the DURA initiative. Accordingly, applicants are encouraged to incorporate into their proposals strategies such as advisors and partners that could augment proposed budgets and provide future funds, such as local and regional companies and investment groups, internal university foundations, local and state government economic development offices, and federal and state small business administration offices.

1. Lithium-ion Battery Safety.
Safety concerns continue to hamper full adoption of lithium-ion batteries for defense systems, despite significant research investments by the government and the private sector. This Defense initiative will advance promising lithium-ion battery safety technologies at university research laboratories into early laboratory prototypes and potentially minimum viable products for adoption by the defense and commercial sectors via early startups, small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Specific technical areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: improved electrolytes; stable high-energy anodes and cathodes; cell components and structures that enhance safety and reliability (e.g. use of electrode coatings and electrolyte additives); safety optimization through battery and battery module design and packaging; and battery management and state of health techniques that prevent and/or mitigate catastrophic failure.

2. Electrical Grid Reliability, Resiliency and Security.
Both the defense and commercial sectors recognize the ever-growing criticality to enhance electrical grid reliability, resiliency and security through innovation at the component and system levels. This Defense initiative will advance relevant electrical grid innovations at university research laboratories into early laboratory prototypes and potentially minimum viable products for adoption by the defense and commercial sectors via early startups, small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors. Specific technical areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following: advanced electrical power generation, transmission and distribution hardware and software; physical cyber secured industrial controls hardware and software; effective control of microgrids supporting high-dynamic loads; electrical grid protocols and controls to maintain secured operations of critical infrastructure under adverse conditions; hardening of electrical grid components against kinetic and electromagnetic assaults; and affordable, easy-to-deploy microgrids for expeditionary and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and for remote communities.

Proposals should also address the following areas:

• Laboratory-to-Market Approaches: To facilitate commercialization, applicants are strongly encouraged to consider inclusion of proven business-oriented activities in their proposals such as business startup training and events, business accelerators and technology incubators.

• Workforce/Professional Development: Describe how the program will positively impact workforce development in the applicant’s local and regional area. Applicants are further encouraged to include consideration on how their program will attract and employ veterans and other members of the military community (e.g. reservists).