http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/17/technology/military_energy/index.htm
Some of the numbers in here are staggering!
“$15 billion on energy” “…80% of the federal energy budget..”
From a design standpoint, here are the needs of your client:
A portable, non-explosive, simply constructed, lightweight, renewable, energy source that is as durable as the Marines it serves. No problem, right?
What interests me are the ExFOBs (Experimental Forward Operating Bases). See the movie Restrepo, you’ll quickly get the idea of an FOB: Spartan living in a remote outpost, usually under some kind of attack. Think “hill-fort”, like the ones from the Bronze Age, its not far off, sans machine guns. These experimental bases are at the crossroads of an ancient goal (the ultra-efficient, swift and effective fighting force) and modern technological advancements. As much as gas-power has allowed modern militaries to be highly effective (just ask the Polish Calvary from 1939), it has become a leash and limiting factor when establishing outposts in highly remote locations and, as a result, a financial burden as well.
Making these outposts truly self-sufficient has great implications for the ability of the armed forces to stretch even further. An FOB’s success is inherently based its ability to carry out functions with as little material support as necessary. Currently, they are reliant on convoys, whether by overland routes or by air, for food, fuel, and supplies. Total self-sufficiency might be impossible. There will always be a need for ammunitions, equipment, and things to be fixed or replaced. But, if fuel could be taken out of that equation, there could be a significant change in the strategic abilities of that unit.
So, what are we talking? Roll-out solar arrays? Hybrid fighting vehicles? Maybe, but maybe the solution is more outside the box than that. Recent work has been done of fuel producing algae that might be able to provide a continuous energy source without compromising power and without the weight of batteries. On a less appetizing note, we must not forget that energy can come from biological waste as well. If MREs are already being brought in, why not use them twice, once for the soldiers, once after the soldiers have processed them.
To find a really groundbreaking solution to this problem is going to require rethinking how we look at our energy sources. Looking at energy beyond the current linear mindset (oil=power, food=energy, etc.) and begin thinking of energy in all of its various forms. Whether its solar rays, plant sugars, fats and oils, or methane from decomposition, it will most likely take a multi-pronged approach to create a highly efficient, versatile force.
Some of the numbers in here are staggering!
“$15 billion on energy” “…80% of the federal energy budget..”
From a design standpoint, here are the needs of your client:
A portable, non-explosive, simply constructed, lightweight, renewable, energy source that is as durable as the Marines it serves. No problem, right?
What interests me are the ExFOBs (Experimental Forward Operating Bases). See the movie Restrepo, you’ll quickly get the idea of an FOB: Spartan living in a remote outpost, usually under some kind of attack. Think “hill-fort”, like the ones from the Bronze Age, its not far off, sans machine guns. These experimental bases are at the crossroads of an ancient goal (the ultra-efficient, swift and effective fighting force) and modern technological advancements. As much as gas-power has allowed modern militaries to be highly effective (just ask the Polish Calvary from 1939), it has become a leash and limiting factor when establishing outposts in highly remote locations and, as a result, a financial burden as well.
Making these outposts truly self-sufficient has great implications for the ability of the armed forces to stretch even further. An FOB’s success is inherently based its ability to carry out functions with as little material support as necessary. Currently, they are reliant on convoys, whether by overland routes or by air, for food, fuel, and supplies. Total self-sufficiency might be impossible. There will always be a need for ammunitions, equipment, and things to be fixed or replaced. But, if fuel could be taken out of that equation, there could be a significant change in the strategic abilities of that unit.
So, what are we talking? Roll-out solar arrays? Hybrid fighting vehicles? Maybe, but maybe the solution is more outside the box than that. Recent work has been done of fuel producing algae that might be able to provide a continuous energy source without compromising power and without the weight of batteries. On a less appetizing note, we must not forget that energy can come from biological waste as well. If MREs are already being brought in, why not use them twice, once for the soldiers, once after the soldiers have processed them.
To find a really groundbreaking solution to this problem is going to require rethinking how we look at our energy sources. Looking at energy beyond the current linear mindset (oil=power, food=energy, etc.) and begin thinking of energy in all of its various forms. Whether its solar rays, plant sugars, fats and oils, or methane from decomposition, it will most likely take a multi-pronged approach to create a highly efficient, versatile force.
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