Projects with promising ideas could also be eligible to share a further £750,000 to improve them in a second phase.
The CDE says it is particularly interested in technologies that improve endurance – stretching to days rather than minutes, are lightweight and man-portable and have high energy density (greater than 1000 watt hours per kg).
The military is increasingly looking to robotic and autonomous systems for functions, including resupply, logistics and other military uses. However, use of autonomous systems is limited by a lack of lightweight power systems. This competition is looking for innovative power systems that could last around 48 hours.
The competition is open until 1st February 2017 to any organisation and is for fully funded development contracts. Phase 1 projects are expected to be worth between £40,000 and £80,000 and to last up to nine months. A briefing event for potential applicants will be held on 1st December 2016.