-
DASA has
launched a new Themed Competition: Engineering Biology for
Defence and Security
- Funded by the Defence and Science Technology Laboratory
- Run in cooperation with the US Department of Defense
- Up to £1.5m funding available for engineering biology
technologies
The Defence and Security
Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to
launch a new Themed Competition called Engineering Biology for
Defence and Security. Run on behalf of the Defence and Science
Technology Laboratory (Dstl), this
competition seeks proposals for innovative technologies that take
synthetic biology concepts, and uses them to improve defence
capability and address its challenges.
This competition will also involve the US Department of Defense
(DoD). Both the
Ministry of Defence (MOD) and DoD will have access to proposals
submitted under this competition in order to jointly assess which
proposals to fund.
This themed competition focuses on the following challenge areas:
- Challenge 1: Exploiting engineering biology for a step change
in power and energy technologies
- Challenge 2: Materials for defence
- Challenge 3: Sensing
Key dates and funding
Up to £1.5m is available to fund multiple proposals for synthetic
biology innovations.
The deadline to submit a proposal is midday 25 August 2022.
Do you have an innovation? Read the full competition
document and submit a proposal.
What is synthetic biology?
Synthetic biology is the design and fabrication of biological
components and systems that do not exist in the natural world. It
involves utilising synthetic biology concepts and turning them
into real world solutions.
Engineering biology is a disruptive technology, identified as a
key tool for achieving the sustainability targets set by the UK
Government. The tools and technologies emerging from engineering
biology have the potential to transform many parts of the UK
industrial base, and Defence and Security in particular seeks to
understand how new bio-enabled approaches can improve capability
and also reduce its carbon footprint.
This competition seeks cutting edge, multidisciplinary research
through the application of engineering biology tools and
techniques, using novel research approaches and the discovery of
new knowledge.
Engineering biology innovations for Defence and Security:
Challenge areas
Submitted proposals should choose to target one or more of the
below challenge areas.
Challenge 1: Exploiting engineering biology for a step
change in power and energy technologies
This challenge area seeks concepts that can offer a step change
in existing power source and energy storage solutions for
military applications. For example:
- using engineered biology approaches to replace one or more
components of a ‘traditional’ battery construction to improve
energy, safety or other performance metrics
- using engineering biology to produce packaging or other
materials that enhances a battery’s safety or performance
- producing an entirely novel engineering biology solution to
the production of useable electrical energy
Challenge 2: Materials for defence
This challenge area seeks materials for a range of uses in
Defence and Security. This includes physical protection and
materials capable of survival in extreme environments. For
example:
- functionalised material e.g. self-disclosing for fatigue and
corrosion, non-visible damage
- lightweight but strong structural materials, including
composites
- novel camouflage solutions, including active or reactive
colour change materials, variable emissivity surfaces and very
high performance acoustic absorbers
- materials for eye protection, covering physical and laser
protection
Challenge 3: Sensing
Sensing and sensor technologies are a fundamental enabler of
Defence and Security activities. This challenge area seeks
technology that moves beyond traditional analytical sensors. For
example:
- novel sensing modalities delivered through engineering
biology, i.e. mediated by a new component or a new combination of
known components to sense new materials
- sensing modalities that are enabled by bioengineered
components
- biomimetic or bioinspired sensing approaches
Want to learn more about these challenge areas? Read the full competition
document here.
Webinars and online eventsCompetition
Webinar: 5 July 2022
This webinar will provide more information on the challenge areas
and how to submit a proposal. There will also be an opportunity
to ask questions in the Q&A.
Register
now
If you’re interested in this technology area please also take a
look at Generation-after-next
Wearable Technologies. Please note that you cannot submit the
same proposal to both competitions. If you’re interested in
applying but unsure which competition your innovation would be
best suited to, contact your local innovation
partner.
Submit a proposal
Do you have a solution or novel approach that may help our
ability to utilise engineering biology concepts in defence and
security? Submit an idea and help DASA, Dstl and
DoD exploit synthetic
biology to address key defence challenges.
Read the full competition
document to learn more and submit a proposal.
