GB-UK: Fuels and Lubricants; Reducing Cost of Ownership

THIS IS AN SBRI CHALLENGE DETAILS CAN BE VIEWED ON THE INNOVATE UK WEBSITE. THIS NOTICE IS A DUPLICATE TO GAIN FULL COVERAGE.

Up to £1M is available for Phase 1 of this 2 phase competition funded by MOD. The DE&S shall "equip & support our Armed Forces for operations now & in the future." DE&S is responsible for procuring & supporting all the equipment & services for the UK Armed Forces.To operate in harsh hostile & toxic environments whilst maintaining operational effectiveness is a challenge.The aim is to provide fit, form & function.Provide the user with IPE that is comfortable to wear ensuring the user can operate safely effectively & efficiently; whether on land sea or air (or a combination).

The E-IPE challenge is to improve user effectiveness through a coherent & integrated clothing &protection system & bidders are to focus on 1 or more of the 7 key themes: •CBRN Protection – low burden,broad spectrum respiratory & dermal protection against toxic vapours,liquids & aerosols via integration with existing operational equipment •Climatic/Environmental Protection – for integration of protective clothing against extremes of hot & cold e.g. on the upper deck of a carrier •Fire Protection – enhanced level of protection & reduction of the thermo physiological burden of the fire protection on board ships/carriers •Industrial Protection – for personnel against for example hazardous materials or substances,noise etc •Blunt & Ballistic Protection–for integration of protective material into clothing without affecting the human factors(bulk,thermal burden,range of movement) •Enhanced Hand Protection–increase the capability/interoperability of gloves whilst providing increased functionality eg touch screen capability •Novel Fitting Techniques – enable accurate measuring of the user for IPE to improve accuracy of armour positioning & optimise the sizing/fit. The user needs a range of IPE that requires integration with other equipment.

Innovative methods of integration of IPE would be beneficial to reduce the equipment burden on the user improve interoperability & potentially reduce inventory holdings. The results assist DE&S to de-risk procurement & have broad exploitation for various specialist military users/industry/ civil/international markets.

Phase 1 therefore seeks proposals for proof of concept research into innovative technologies, materials/designs that optimise IPE deployed today in harsh, hostile & toxic environments. Phase 2 funding to develop working prototypes will be available for those projects that demo the greatest potential at the end of the Phase 1 contract.

This comp opens 1 Jun - closes at 12 noon on 29 Jul 15. A briefing event in London on 14 Jul 15.

The London event is oversubscribed.A Briefing webinar will be held 17 Jul at 2pm. Register for the webinar here.

All proposals must be submitted via the Innovate UK Portal. The comp is run by Innovate UK. Registration end 22 Jul 15 Closes 29 Jul 15