By Daniel Smoot

The U.S. Army xTech Program awarded cash prizes to 10 small businesses for their innovative technologies in areas of joint critical interest to the principal manufacturing arms of the Department of Defense.

As part of the xTechManufacture competition finals, 10 companies presented their innovative technology solutions to the Joint Defense Manufacturing Technology Panel on Monday, Dec. 5, at the 2022 Defense Manufacturing Conference in Tampa, Florida.

Of the 10 finalists, three companies received first-, second-, and third-place cash prizes of $125,000, $75,000, and $25,000, respectively, while the other companies each received $10,000. The winners of xTechManufacture competition are:

• First place: Allvar Alloys, College Station, Texas, “Tailored Thermal Expansion Materials for Improved Hypersonic Seeker Telescopes.”
• Second place: Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc., Fayetteville, Ark., “Rapid Deployment of Hypersonic Systems using High Temperature Control XNodes.”
• Third place: NecoTech, Delaware, Ohio, “EV Powered Mobile 3D Concrete Printing of in Situ Material.”

The remaining finalists are:

• Anthro Energy, Inc., San Jose, Calif., “Facile Manufacturing Method for Creating Safe, Conformable, High Energy Density Batteries.”
• Ascend Manufacturing, Knoxville, Tenn., “Supply Chain Resiliency Through Economical High Volume Additive Manufacturing.”
• Corsha, Inc., Vienna, Va., “Securing the Digital Thread with Corsha’s Zero Trust MFA for NPEs.”
• Craitor, San Diego, Calif., “Intrepid Expeditionary 3D Printer.”
• Kupros Inc., Loogootee, Ind., “On Demand 3D Printer Electronics.”
• Multiscale Systems, Inc. Worcester, Mass., “Additively manufactured lightweight seals and expansion joints for high temperature hypersonics.”
• Opex Systems LLC, Atlanta, Ga., “Planned MIL-STD TMS Enabling Technology, for Power & Energy OEMs to Comply for Next-gen Equipment.”

“Breakthrough technologies, such as mobile 3D printing and high-energy density batteries, underscore the competition winners’ talent in developing cutting-edge manufacturing solutions,” said Dr. Matthew Willis, director of Army Prize Competitions and the Army Applied SBIR Program, within the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. “Competitions like xTechManufacture are key in ensuring the DOD is partnering with industry leaders in the manufacturing space.”

The xTechManufacture competition launched in September — with over 115 submissions submitting concept whitepapers in the technology areas of hypersonics, directed power, power and energy, digital thread, and additive manufacturing — to support the defense industrial base’s ability to advance critical solutions into acquisition systems.

This DOD-wide collaborative effort was sponsored by ASA(ALT), in collaboration with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the JDMTP, which is comprised up of key DOD personnel from the OUSD R&E, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Defense Logistics Agency.

The JDMTP is chartered to identify and integrate joint requirements, conduct joint planning, and develop joint strategies for leveraging advanced manufacturing to support and execute national defense priorities.

“Partnering with the JDMTP and broader DOD further bolsters these manufacturing efforts across the U.S. military,” said Dr. Willis, noting that the collaboration drives the development of meaningful capabilities to provide the warfighter with critical, next-generation technologies.

Established in 2018, the xTech program integrates small businesses and non-traditional vendors into the Army’s science and technology ecosystem through direct exposure to laboratories, Program Executive Offices and Program Managers across the Army.

Finalists are admitted to the xTech Accelerator — at no costs to the companies — to receive additional mentorship and networking opportunities. This helps them grow their businesses both within the government and in commercial markets.

The Army xTech program holds several competitions per year, from open-topic competitions through iterations of xTechSearch, to technology-specific competitions targeting specific Army needs and challenges. For all competition information, visit https://www.xtech.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. It accomplishes this by leveraging technologies and capabilities to meet current and future Army needs. For more information, go to https://www.army.mil/asaalt/.