Production of a High Purity Ceramic Powder
SBIR Opportunity Analysis
The Department of Defense, through the U.S. Air Force, is seeking proposals for the direct to Phase II scale-up production of a high-purity ceramic powder under solicitation 26.BZ. Awardees must develop a plan to scale up the Air Force's laboratory co-precipitation and pressurized hydrothermal synthesis processes to deliver 500 kilograms of high-purity, contaminate-free ceramic powder with spherical nanoparticles under 400 nanometers in diameter. Key technical requirements include achieving a production rate of at least one metric ton per year, providing cost estimates for material sales and reactor system fabrication, and meeting a projected Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 requirement. Proposers must demonstrate past feasibility in scaling these chemical reactions to at least a 50 kilogram batch scale or a continuous 20 kilograms per week setup, with the first 60 kilograms of material due within the first eight months of the award. Proposals for this opportunity must be submitted by the close date of June 24, 2026, at 4:00 PM Eastern Time.