Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, AFC, Phase I
Automated and Modular Forward Deployed Biomanufacturing Unit for Warfighter Field
Objective
Advance research that safely produces nutritious foodstuffs via biosynthesis at point of need to overcome contested logistics and sustain the future force with high quality nutrition on-demand that ensures food security
Description
Point of need (PON) food production may sustain units deployed in contested logistics (CL) environments and reduce class I logistics burden. Research initiated by DARPA and the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes has identified novel methods to utilize PON resource processing that can maintain military dominance in a contested or denied logistics environment.
Synthetic biology is being applied to yield fermented foods that meet palatability and nutrition standards of warfighter rations. The end goal is nutrition at PON through transformation of in-place resources from air, microbes, water and energy harvesting for downstream processing to foodstuffs.
Accordingly, novel biosynthetic processes can provide foodstuffs at PON to sustain military forces and maintain operational superiority in a contested or denied logistics environment. While a simplified process design is desired, biosynthetic process sub-systems shall be scalable and tunable to support a fully integrated process suitable for military and commercial application.
The biological process shall be capable of producing enough biomass to meet nutritional needs of 14 Male warfighters for 24 hours within a maximum 5-day startup period, and a preferable 3-day startup. This process should be capable of semi-continuous operation while maintaining food safety and food security in the military operating environment.
The realized capability will:
- Provide high quality nutrition where and when it’s needed.
- Increase ability to utilize locally sourced food/water for military and disaster relief operations.
- Decrease logistical burden associated with shipping and delivering Class 1 supplies.
- Reduce risk of potential illness due to food & water contamination/unavailability.
- Reduce the expense of prepositioning, storing, transporting, and waste handling of consumables.
- Provide highly palatable foodstuffs, through which quality is validated through human testing with sensory scores above 6 on 9-point hedonic scale.
- Meet the Nutritional Standards for Operational Rations (NSOR): ± 10% and with 3600 kcal in ≤900 g.
The end state goal of the proposed initiative is to develop a fully integrated system that can produce nutrition on demand through transformation of in-place resources from existing materials, air, microbes, water, and energy for downstream processing to foodstuffs. CFD seeks partners to develop modular components that can be assembled into a fully autonomous system to produce a forward deployed biomanufacturing unit that will leverage ongoing DOD investments including those through OSD’s Manufacturing Science and Technology Program (MSTP), Tri-Service Biotechnology for a Resilient Supply Chain (T-BRSC) and DARPA.
Emerging technical processes for scaling bioproduction have enabled miniaturized, modular, semi-autonomous, and mobile biomanufacturing systems. Potential components to be developed include feedstock capture/conversion, upstream processing, fermenter, and downstream processing units.
Food safety of biosynthetically produced fermented food shall also be confirmed, ensuring that no hazardous biproducts are produced and that food security can be maintained in extreme hot (above 125° Fahrenheit) and cold (below -40° F) military operating environment.
Semi-autonomous control with internal/embedded diagnostic, nutritional and food safety sensor validation capability is also desired, as this avoids the need for specialized or skilled operators and ensures food quality and security are maintained. Ultimately, a robust modular, mobile system is desired to maintain optimum physical and cognitive performance, warfighter lethality and dominance.
Phase I
The objective of Phase I is to develop a proof-of-concept prototype capable of demonstrating the feasibility and safety of biosynthetically producing foodstuffs at PON. Innovative biological sources of nutrition identified from emerging research shall be advanced to support the feasibility of the proposed design.
Process parameters, including complete mass and energy balance, shall be demonstrated in a bench-scale model; while sub-systems can be demonstrated to validate production rate, scalability and overall efficiency of the process, an integrated system is preferred. A final report shall be delivered that describes the technical feasibility, safety, and cost of using biosynthetic technologies to provide Class 1 supplies (food and water) to feed and hydrate the Future Force in austere and non-traditional environments.
The report shall describe how requirements will be met (including mitigation of risks associated with factors limiting system performance, safety, and scalability, including size, weight, and power characteristics). The report shall detail the conceptual design and associated drawings detailing the concept, performance modeling, scalability of the proposed technology with predicted processing rate, safety, and human interface (MANPRINT) factors, and estimated production costs.
The report shall also address technical risks and mitigation steps to identify and resolve potential field deploy-ability issues. Deliverables of this phase will include proof of concept (in the form of a small-scale model or prototype), conceptual design, complete analysis of the technology projected performance (food/water security, nutrient retention, organoleptic properties and quality) and the identified performance metrics, milestones and risk mitigation strategies to be taken to successfully advance development.
The projected technical readiness level (TRL) shall achieve a TRL of 3 and provide a clear path to Phase II/III and follow-on commercialization. Drawings shall be provided in SolidWorks® format.
Phase II
Advance and refine technology developed during Phase I with an optimized design that addresses the target metrics and scale of the process. Fabricate and demonstrate an advanced prototype for Joint warfighter application, verifying that desired performance metrics and safety factors are met.
Provide a report, associated drawings, and control software/source code, if applicable, documenting the theoretical process, scaled design, including any sub-system specifications, performance characterization, projected reliability/maintainability/cost and recommendations to implement the design and implement the system in the target military application.
Deliver a full-scale prototype to support Army technical, operational, environmental and safety testing in the target application by the end of Phase II. An implementation plan shall be provided for the warfighter sustainment applications (nutritional composition, stability/water activity/shelf life, hydration status and food security) that validates the feasibility of the approach and can ultimately support transition to military and commercial applications (Phase III). The projected technical readiness level shall be at TRL 6 at the end of Phase II.
Phase III
The proposed biotechnology innovation and associated biomanufacturing capability will overcome the present technology gap and be rapidly transitioned to both military and commercial applications, where a self-contained, high efficiency, and mobile technology for production of nutrition will lead to food sources for point-of-need nutrition and implementation of automated food safety/security analytical devices.
The Phase III is expected to advance the proposed innovation to a TRL of 7 or higher, supporting a system demonstration in a relevant environment where highly deployable Soldiers can be sustained with little to no resupply. Ultimately, the technology will be transitioned to the Squad or Platoon, where high efficiency, secure production of nutritional products can be utilized to maximize the performance, lethality, and security of the Soldier through optimal nutrition and hydration in all operating environments.
The Phase III represents concurrent (unfunded) commercialization of the technology that is expected to provide economy of scale, logistic, and other benefits that can be attributed to the proposed development.
Submission Information
For more information, and to submit your full proposal package, visit the DSIP Portal.
SBIR|STTR Help Desk: usarmy.sbirsttr@army.mil
References:
- Cornucopia BAA. https://sam.gov/opp/a9c25f8fd82042889b100a1f22d5a7a4/view; Dieterich, Cora Lisbeth. “Investigating the total synthesis, biosynthesis, isolation, and activity of natural products from marine bacteria”. Diss. ETH Zurich, 2023;
- Jarboe LR, Khalid A, Rodriguez Ocasio E, Noroozi KF. Extrapolation of design strategies for lignocellulosic biomass conversion to the challenge of plastic waste. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2022 Apr 14;49(2):kuac001. doi: 10.1093/jimb/kuac001. PMID: 35040946; PMCID: PMC9119000;
- Magaji, Hamza, et al. “Sustainable production of glutamic acid by Enterobacter sp. strain isolated from cheese for potential protein biosynthesis: Optimization by Response Surface Methodology.” Bioresource Technology Reports 24 (2023): 101647;
- Meng, Jiao, et al. “Economical production of Pichia pastoris single cell protein from methanol at industrial pilot scale.” Microbial Cell Factories 22.1 (2023): 198;
- Ozaki, Taro, Atsushi Minami, and Hideaki Oikawa. “Recent advances in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides of fungal origin.” The Journal of Antibiotics 76.1 (2023): 3-13; ReSource BAA. https://sam.gov/opp/bc820b44ba0d1d5be93a3e6c6a985788/view;
- Ribeiro, Gislane Oliveira, et al. “Innovations and developments in single cell protein: Bibliometric review and patents analysis.” Frontiers in Microbiology 13 (2023): 1093464;
- Rodriguez-Ocasio E, Khalid A, Truka CJ, Blenner MA, Jarboe LR. Survey of nonconventional yeasts for lipid and hydrocarbon biotechnology. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2022 Jul 30;49(4):kuac010. doi: 10.1093/jimb/kuac010. PMID: 35348703; PMCID: PMC9338885;
- Somanski, Aristidou et al. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, Volume 49, Issue 5, September 2022, kuac022, https://doi.org/10.1093/jimb/kuac022;
- Unis, Razan, et al. “Production of single-cell-protein (SCP)/poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)(PHBV) matrices through fermentation of archaea Haloferax mediterranei.” bioRxiv (2023): 2023-12;
- Wiebe, .M. Myco-protein from Fusarium venenatum: a well-established product for human consumption. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 58, 421–427 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-002-0931-x;
- Xie. Continuous biomanufacturing with microbes – upstream progresses and challenges. Current Opinion in biotechnology 78, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102793;
- Zhou, Chen, et al. “Combining protein and metabolic engineering to achieve green biosynthesis of 12β-O-Glc-PPD in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” Green Chemistry 25.4 (2023): 1356-1367
Objective
Advance research that safely produces nutritious foodstuffs via biosynthesis at point of need to overcome contested logistics and sustain the future force with high quality nutrition on-demand that ensures food security
Description
Point of need (PON) food production may sustain units deployed in contested logistics (CL) environments and reduce class I logistics burden. Research initiated by DARPA and the DoD Manufacturing Innovation Institutes has identified novel methods to utilize PON resource processing that can maintain military dominance in a contested or denied logistics environment.
Synthetic biology is being applied to yield fermented foods that meet palatability and nutrition standards of warfighter rations. The end goal is nutrition at PON through transformation of in-place resources from air, microbes, water and energy harvesting for downstream processing to foodstuffs.
Accordingly, novel biosynthetic processes can provide foodstuffs at PON to sustain military forces and maintain operational superiority in a contested or denied logistics environment. While a simplified process design is desired, biosynthetic process sub-systems shall be scalable and tunable to support a fully integrated process suitable for military and commercial application.
The biological process shall be capable of producing enough biomass to meet nutritional needs of 14 Male warfighters for 24 hours within a maximum 5-day startup period, and a preferable 3-day startup. This process should be capable of semi-continuous operation while maintaining food safety and food security in the military operating environment.
The realized capability will:
- Provide high quality nutrition where and when it’s needed.
- Increase ability to utilize locally sourced food/water for military and disaster relief operations.
- Decrease logistical burden associated with shipping and delivering Class 1 supplies.
- Reduce risk of potential illness due to food & water contamination/unavailability.
- Reduce the expense of prepositioning, storing, transporting, and waste handling of consumables.
- Provide highly palatable foodstuffs, through which quality is validated through human testing with sensory scores above 6 on 9-point hedonic scale.
- Meet the Nutritional Standards for Operational Rations (NSOR): ± 10% and with 3600 kcal in ≤900 g.
The end state goal of the proposed initiative is to develop a fully integrated system that can produce nutrition on demand through transformation of in-place resources from existing materials, air, microbes, water, and energy for downstream processing to foodstuffs. CFD seeks partners to develop modular components that can be assembled into a fully autonomous system to produce a forward deployed biomanufacturing unit that will leverage ongoing DOD investments including those through OSD’s Manufacturing Science and Technology Program (MSTP), Tri-Service Biotechnology for a Resilient Supply Chain (T-BRSC) and DARPA.
Emerging technical processes for scaling bioproduction have enabled miniaturized, modular, semi-autonomous, and mobile biomanufacturing systems. Potential components to be developed include feedstock capture/conversion, upstream processing, fermenter, and downstream processing units.
Food safety of biosynthetically produced fermented food shall also be confirmed, ensuring that no hazardous biproducts are produced and that food security can be maintained in extreme hot (above 125° Fahrenheit) and cold (below -40° F) military operating environment.
Semi-autonomous control with internal/embedded diagnostic, nutritional and food safety sensor validation capability is also desired, as this avoids the need for specialized or skilled operators and ensures food quality and security are maintained. Ultimately, a robust modular, mobile system is desired to maintain optimum physical and cognitive performance, warfighter lethality and dominance.
Phase I
The objective of Phase I is to develop a proof-of-concept prototype capable of demonstrating the feasibility and safety of biosynthetically producing foodstuffs at PON. Innovative biological sources of nutrition identified from emerging research shall be advanced to support the feasibility of the proposed design.
Process parameters, including complete mass and energy balance, shall be demonstrated in a bench-scale model; while sub-systems can be demonstrated to validate production rate, scalability and overall efficiency of the process, an integrated system is preferred. A final report shall be delivered that describes the technical feasibility, safety, and cost of using biosynthetic technologies to provide Class 1 supplies (food and water) to feed and hydrate the Future Force in austere and non-traditional environments.
The report shall describe how requirements will be met (including mitigation of risks associated with factors limiting system performance, safety, and scalability, including size, weight, and power characteristics). The report shall detail the conceptual design and associated drawings detailing the concept, performance modeling, scalability of the proposed technology with predicted processing rate, safety, and human interface (MANPRINT) factors, and estimated production costs.
The report shall also address technical risks and mitigation steps to identify and resolve potential field deploy-ability issues. Deliverables of this phase will include proof of concept (in the form of a small-scale model or prototype), conceptual design, complete analysis of the technology projected performance (food/water security, nutrient retention, organoleptic properties and quality) and the identified performance metrics, milestones and risk mitigation strategies to be taken to successfully advance development.
The projected technical readiness level (TRL) shall achieve a TRL of 3 and provide a clear path to Phase II/III and follow-on commercialization. Drawings shall be provided in SolidWorks® format.
Phase II
Advance and refine technology developed during Phase I with an optimized design that addresses the target metrics and scale of the process. Fabricate and demonstrate an advanced prototype for Joint warfighter application, verifying that desired performance metrics and safety factors are met.
Provide a report, associated drawings, and control software/source code, if applicable, documenting the theoretical process, scaled design, including any sub-system specifications, performance characterization, projected reliability/maintainability/cost and recommendations to implement the design and implement the system in the target military application.
Deliver a full-scale prototype to support Army technical, operational, environmental and safety testing in the target application by the end of Phase II. An implementation plan shall be provided for the warfighter sustainment applications (nutritional composition, stability/water activity/shelf life, hydration status and food security) that validates the feasibility of the approach and can ultimately support transition to military and commercial applications (Phase III). The projected technical readiness level shall be at TRL 6 at the end of Phase II.
Phase III
The proposed biotechnology innovation and associated biomanufacturing capability will overcome the present technology gap and be rapidly transitioned to both military and commercial applications, where a self-contained, high efficiency, and mobile technology for production of nutrition will lead to food sources for point-of-need nutrition and implementation of automated food safety/security analytical devices.
The Phase III is expected to advance the proposed innovation to a TRL of 7 or higher, supporting a system demonstration in a relevant environment where highly deployable Soldiers can be sustained with little to no resupply. Ultimately, the technology will be transitioned to the Squad or Platoon, where high efficiency, secure production of nutritional products can be utilized to maximize the performance, lethality, and security of the Soldier through optimal nutrition and hydration in all operating environments.
The Phase III represents concurrent (unfunded) commercialization of the technology that is expected to provide economy of scale, logistic, and other benefits that can be attributed to the proposed development.
Submission Information
For more information, and to submit your full proposal package, visit the DSIP Portal.
SBIR|STTR Help Desk: usarmy.sbirsttr@army.mil
References:
- Cornucopia BAA. https://sam.gov/opp/a9c25f8fd82042889b100a1f22d5a7a4/view; Dieterich, Cora Lisbeth. “Investigating the total synthesis, biosynthesis, isolation, and activity of natural products from marine bacteria”. Diss. ETH Zurich, 2023;
- Jarboe LR, Khalid A, Rodriguez Ocasio E, Noroozi KF. Extrapolation of design strategies for lignocellulosic biomass conversion to the challenge of plastic waste. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2022 Apr 14;49(2):kuac001. doi: 10.1093/jimb/kuac001. PMID: 35040946; PMCID: PMC9119000;
- Magaji, Hamza, et al. “Sustainable production of glutamic acid by Enterobacter sp. strain isolated from cheese for potential protein biosynthesis: Optimization by Response Surface Methodology.” Bioresource Technology Reports 24 (2023): 101647;
- Meng, Jiao, et al. “Economical production of Pichia pastoris single cell protein from methanol at industrial pilot scale.” Microbial Cell Factories 22.1 (2023): 198;
- Ozaki, Taro, Atsushi Minami, and Hideaki Oikawa. “Recent advances in the biosynthesis of ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides of fungal origin.” The Journal of Antibiotics 76.1 (2023): 3-13; ReSource BAA. https://sam.gov/opp/bc820b44ba0d1d5be93a3e6c6a985788/view;
- Ribeiro, Gislane Oliveira, et al. “Innovations and developments in single cell protein: Bibliometric review and patents analysis.” Frontiers in Microbiology 13 (2023): 1093464;
- Rodriguez-Ocasio E, Khalid A, Truka CJ, Blenner MA, Jarboe LR. Survey of nonconventional yeasts for lipid and hydrocarbon biotechnology. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2022 Jul 30;49(4):kuac010. doi: 10.1093/jimb/kuac010. PMID: 35348703; PMCID: PMC9338885;
- Somanski, Aristidou et al. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, Volume 49, Issue 5, September 2022, kuac022, https://doi.org/10.1093/jimb/kuac022;
- Unis, Razan, et al. “Production of single-cell-protein (SCP)/poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)(PHBV) matrices through fermentation of archaea Haloferax mediterranei.” bioRxiv (2023): 2023-12;
- Wiebe, .M. Myco-protein from Fusarium venenatum: a well-established product for human consumption. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 58, 421–427 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-002-0931-x;
- Xie. Continuous biomanufacturing with microbes – upstream progresses and challenges. Current Opinion in biotechnology 78, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102793;
- Zhou, Chen, et al. “Combining protein and metabolic engineering to achieve green biosynthesis of 12β-O-Glc-PPD in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” Green Chemistry 25.4 (2023): 1356-1367