The Defense Department is looking to improve energy storage efficiencies and renewable energy options like solar power to help improve readiness, according to the Pentagon’s energy czar.
One area DoD is working on is improved batteries and energy storage, Assistant Defense Secretary for Operational Energy Plans and Programs Sharon Burke told a Capitol Hill audience recently at the American Council on Renewable Energy’s (ACORE) National Renewable Energy Policy forum.
“There’s an Army estimate out there that soldiers walking a three-day foot patrol in Afghanistan may carry anywhere from 10 to 18 pounds of batteries,” Burke said. “We want to look at how we power that particular system better.”
Burke said improving energy storage options is an area she sees a “high probability” of crossover to the commercial sector. Burke said DoD is interested in the gamut of battery technologies, from nano batteries for sensing to more efficient lightweight batteries for troops to large scale energy storage.
“We’re also looking, in the operational community, for things like powering hydro power to meet pulse power for some of the systems we need on ships,” Burke said.
The Navy’s decades-old electromagnetic railgun project could benefit from this sort of collaboration. The railgun uses pulse power to launch projectiles instead of using traditional gun propellants. The Navy in the coming months is expected to decide the winner between General Atomics and BAE Systems to develop, design and build an actual full-scale, next-generation railgun prototype (Defense Daily, Jan. 17).
Burke said solar power, specifically ruggedized solar that can generate power at forward operating bases, is another energy priority. Burke said DoD had good outcomes with ruggedized solar, including specific loads for things like mortar pits. Burke said the Pentagon has also tested unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) using solar, including one test where it had a system aloft for two weeks straight without refueling. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is also interested in developing a solar UAV capability in its Vulture program (Defense Daily, Feb. 13).
DoD is looking at improving power management and distribution through the use of energy efficient shelters as part of its effort to improve energy efficiencies at combat posts and forward operating bases, according to Burke. Burke also said the Pentagon is actively testing microgrid technologies.
“We’re using oversized, underpowered generators to cool an uninsulated tent, (that) requires a lot of fuel,” Burke said, adding that heating and air conditioning are one of the biggest power users on battlefields. “We’re looking at tents and shelters to be more efficient.”
Burke said improving efficiencies for the military’s “big movers,” which she defined as ships, aircraft and vehicles, is key because one of the United States military’s competitive advantages is the ability to move anything, anywhere at any time.
“We can move things, we can move people anywhere, any time,” Burke said. “That is a huge advantage for us, but it does require a tremendous amount of fuel.”