United Kingdom Defense Seeks Innovation in Collection and Analysis of Hazardous Chemical Materials
The UK MOD is awarding grants for innovative proposals that address challenges associated with sample surface collection, preservation, analysis and attribution (SPAA) of hazardous chemical and biological (ChemBio) materials. Up to $1 million is available in grants to fund innovations at Technology Readiness level (TRL) 2-4 to deliver fieldable prototypes/software (TRL6+) to support investigations into ChemBio incidents.
The production, stockpiling or use of hazardous ChemBio materials for nefarious purposes represents an enduring concern for both the Defense and Security Sectors. Investigation into events involving ChemBio materials have many technical challenges; starting from the initial point of collection by the attending first responder, all the way through to the screening and analytical tools used to identify and/or potentially attribute the material of interest.
The MOD seeks novel and innovative proposals in order to address challenges associated with sample collection (Surface), the preservation of evidence during storage or transportation and potential exploitation to aid attribution of ChemBio materials. Effective proposals should lead to successful identification of ChemBio materials and bring perpetrators to justice.
The sampling of hazardous materials needs to be a low burden, technically simple activity which can be undertaken by a diverse range of operators, from first responders to military personnel and/or scientists. Moreover, the samples may need to be recovered from a broad range of contexts, including from within austere environments with potentially extreme climatic conditions through to urban populated areas. Crucially, the quality of the sample submitted to the laboratory directly dictates the level of analysis that can be undertaken on that material and, in turn, the quality of the resulting analytical data that can be produced. Therefore, techniques that maintain the physical integrity and stability or viability for the duration of transport are key to a successful analysis and attribution capability.
There are three focus areas where innovative solutions and approaches are being sought:
Focus 1: New screening technologies for rapidly detecting or identifying the presence or class of hazardous ChemBio materials in a sample. The goal for this focus area is to enable the rapid classification of “unknown” hazardous substances in the case of not being able to detect or identify a specific ChemBio agent. In essence, these technologies will aid in the initial screening and triage of samples submitted to the laboratory for analysis. All proposals must meet the TRL6 requirement within 24 months.
Focus 2: New sample collection/preservation systems that better maintain the integrity and viability of hazardous samples. The goal of this focus is to retrieve samples from an Operational setting using a system(s) that preserves the properties of the materials collected. All proposals must meet the TRL6 requirement within 24 months.
Focus 3: New analytical approaches to improve the forensic exploitation and the attribution of ChemBio materials and/or recovered chemical/biological weapons material. The goal of this focus area is to maximize the information and breadth of approaches that can be used to analyze a sample enabling its underlying properties to be determined. By acquiring this level of detail about a sample increases the opportunity for the perpetrators of the use of ChemBio materials to be identified during an investigation. All proposals must meet the TRL6 requirement within 24 months.
The MOD seeks novel proposals to benefit end-users working in UK Defense and Security. Your proposal should include evidence of:
• Development pathway so that prototypes and/or software are at TRL6 or above and are ready for field/lab use within 24 months.
• Clear demonstration of how the proposal applies to defense and security.
• Consideration of how a different industry might address this problem (i.e. application of existing techniques in the new context of investigating a ChemBio event).
• Proposals that address at least one of the specified goals (i.e. proposals do not need to address all three) for either Chem, Bio and/or Biomedical materials.
• The approach is robust enough that it can be easily transferred into other analytical laboratories if required.
This call for proposals presents potential opportunities for U.S. companies with expertise in medical testing, bioscience, life science, advanced medical technology and related equipment, technologies and services. U.S. companies have a worldwide reputation for innovative products, after sales service, and training which makes them competitive in the UK market. The U.S. and UK also share similar business cultures and business practices, which makes the UK an attractive market for U.S. suppliers.
If you have novel proposals that could lead to the collection and analysis of hazardous chemical and biological materials and you would like to learn how to submit a proposal, or to learn more about security and defense opportunities in the UK, please contact PJ Menner at the U.S. Embassy London via PJ.Menner@trade.gov.