Competition will award up to $530,000 with largest global prize pool to-date

By Casey Brinck, Office of Army Prize Competitions and Army Applied SBIR Program

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army xTech Program announced the top-five winners of the third annual international prize competition. Scouring the globe for the newest innovations from companies outside the U.S., the Army xTech Program helps equip the American Soldier with game-changing technologies capable of overcoming Army challenges.

The winners of the 2023 xTechInternational competition are:

• First Place: Magnus Metal, D. N.; Haela, Israel; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• Second Place: CERcuits BV; Geel, Belgium; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• Third Place: Equispheres; Ottawa, Canada; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• Fourth Place: Fieldmade; Lillestrøm, Norway; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Composite Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• Fifth Place: Directed Metal 3D; Linares, Spain; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials

The other finalists include: 

• Decpt ApS; Nivå, Denmark; Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT; Pfinztal, Germany; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• K3RX s.r.l.; Imola, Italy; Advanced Composite Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials
• National Research Council of Italy – Institute of Science, Technology and Sustainability for Ceramics (CNR – ISSMC); Faenza, Italy; Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Composite Materials, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials

“This year’s competition was record breaking in a number of aspects, including award amounts and the level of participation we received,” said Ryan Decker, global technology advisor for U.S. Army DEVCOM Atlantic, an Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology partner and co-sponsor of the competition.” It is essential that the Army continues to look beyond our borders to equip our Soldiers with the latest game-changing technologies, and how we can incorporate international partners into DEVCOM programs providing future benefits to U.S. warfighters.”

This year’s competition broke records for xTech’s international series, offering a prize pool of $530,000 — the largest yet — resulting in a record number 137 submissions from a wide array of eligible small businesses and academic and research institutions from around the world focusing on Advanced Manufacturing and Materials.

Competition finals were June 7-8 in London, where nine finalists pitched their innovative solutions to a panel of defense experts. At the conclusion of the finals event, judges selected five businesses as final winners of the competition. In addition to prize money received throughout each stage of the competition, the finalists won: $150,000 for first place; $100,000 for second place; $75,000 for third place; $60,000 for fourth place; and $45,000 for fifth place.

Selected for progression following Phase I of the competition, ten finalists had the opportunity to participate in the xTechInternational Accelerator Program, a 14-week program designed to provide educational programming, diverse mentorship, venture-building consultation and strategic networking for business development. The goal of the xTechInternational Accelerator program is to help participating companies and institutions build long-term relationships with U.S. Army and Department of Defense stakeholders and to potentially transition their technologies into the hands of Army and DoD end-users.

In support of joint service modernization efforts, xTech put out a call earlier this year seeking novel science and technology solutions from international sources in the advanced manufacturing and materials solution space.

xTechInternational Advanced Manufacturing and Materials is the third xTech competition to expand its reach to international innovators, with a prize pool that continues to grow. xTechGlobal Artificial Intelligence had a prize pool of $250,000, awarding three winners in September 2021, while the July 2022 xTechInternational had a prize pool of $480,000, announcing five winners in the areas of water, energy or synthetic biology. The upgraded prize pool of up to $530,000 for the 2023 xTechInternational Advanced Manufacturing and Materials is a significant increase from the first two iterations and demonstrates the value that the Army places on S&T that extends beyond national borders.

“The opportunities presented by the xTech program have grown exponentially since its inception,” said Dr. Amy D’Agostino, xTech program manager. “The increased prize pool has resulted in a massive influx of interest and participation in the international competition series, and we see that growing even more in future iterations of the competition.”

The xTech Program is the Army’s premier prize competition series led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. The latest international competition is an effort among ASA(ALT), Army Futures Command, Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, the U.S. Office of Naval Research Global and the Air Force Research Laboratory. These organizations, alongside xTech, share the mutual goal of discovering novel S&T capabilities that can fill critical DoD mission gaps.

Established in 2018, the Army xTech Program strives to integrate small businesses and nontraditional vendors into the Army’s science and technology ecosystem by providing opportunities for direct exposure to laboratories, program executive offices and program managers from across the Army. Participants receive extensive feedback from Army and DoD stakeholders and have access to training, mentorship, and other support infrastructure as they progress through the competition to determine how to best align their technology solutions with real users and buyers within the Army.

The xTech Program holds several competitions per year, from open-topic competitions such as xTechSearch, to technology-specific competitions targeting specific Army needs and challenges. For all competition information, go to https://www.xtechsearch.army.mil/.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology provides the American Soldier with a decisive advantage in any mission by developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining the world’s finest equipment and services, and by leveraging technologies and capabilities to meet current and future Army needs.