Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: To address the Navy need for innovative power management approaches for a shipboard power

Description

To address the Navy need for innovative power management approaches for a shipboard power grid to effectively manage power for advanced high-power loads, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a novel new Naval Energy Advanced Control (NEAC) system incorporating smart-grid-based distributed energy generation, supply/demand balancing, bidirectional power flows, and real-time information monitoring. An intuitive and user-friendly human/machine interface will display status and diagnostic information and enable a single crew member to manage all aspects of the NEAC system. This highly adaptive and scalable algorithm design, with real-time energy power analysis and control, enables the use of distributed localized control of generation, storage, and load assets to coordinate and optimize the use of the ship"s electric power capacity and provide increased intelligence and operation with increased energy efficiency. In Phase I, POC will determine the scientific, technical, and commercial feasibility of the NEAC technology to ensure that it meets Navy thresholds. POC will evaluate the relevant parameters of the NEAC system with a small-scale demonstration. In Phase II, POC will finalize the Phase I design concept and demonstrate the technology by testing a prototype to show its potential to meet Navy needs.