INFLUIT ENERGY LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: NSF 5371
INFLUIT ENERGY LLC — SBIR Phase II award from Department of Defense.
Phase II SBIR prototype / development signal
- Phase II is where Department of Defense funds deeper R&D after feasibility. Incumbents with Phase II history are serious competitors on adjacent topics.
- Use this award as past-performance context and to map customer organizations for STRATFI/TACFI-style transition planning.
- At $1,500,000, this is a large obligation for typical SBIR Phase sizing — worth reviewing for scope breadth and teaming opportunity.
- Topic code NSF 5371 links this award to a solicitation family — search the same topic stem for incumbents and recompete timing.
- Amount
- $1,500,000
- Agency
- Department of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase II
- Topic
- NSF 5371
- Solicitation
- N/A
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- IL
- Period
- 2019-08-29 → 2022-09-29
Description
Influit Energy LLC (Influit) is proposing a novel approach for a rechargeable liquid energy storage format to address basing and warfighting capability needs. The proposed closed-cycle energy storage ecosystem is enabled by mobile flow battery pods that can be connected to, and accumulate energy from, either distributed or centralized intermittent sources of renewable energy. Once charged, the rechargeable liquid can be pumped or transported away from the pods to electric vehicles or other devices separated from the energy generation sites, while discharged liquids are returned to the pods for charging. Influit’s solution builds on novel rechargeable nanotechnology-based nanoelectrofuel (NEF) and flow battery designs. NEFs are low viscosity stable suspensions of nanoscale battery materials in water-based electrolytes, resulting in system designs competitive with Li-ion (~130 Wh/kg and 350 Wh/L) with operating temperature ranges from -40C to +80C . Implementation of the closed-cycle liquid energy storage systems will ‘invert’ the paradigm of military energy, whereby the extremities of U.S. military power become the beneficiaries of reliable, abundant, and continuous energy, rather than the most energy-challenged segments. A pilot program proposed for the Phase II Option will validate the NEF battery for entry into both military and civilian markets.