UK earmarks £1m for funding innovative ideas for recycling military waste

The UK Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA) is seeking proposals for novel and innovative approaches to develop a Bioprocessing Prototype System across Ministry of Defense (MOD) sites to recycle military waste, oils, fuel and other liquid waste, into reusable products.

Waste is inevitable at sites supporting the daily operations of large military equipment and currently the waste is mainly disposed of by external waste management companies. The MOD aspires to install their own bioprocessors positioned across their sites (including overseas), to manage the waste generated internally. This could provide cost savings to the taxpayer, as well as producing reusable by-products to the benefit of the environment. The solutions could also have cost saving potential for other government departments and aid agencies.

DASA seeks proposals that can develop a bioprocessing system capable of breaking -down waste materials into reusable products, for example: water which can be reintroduced into the water course or reused on site, CO₂ to be captured and reused in innovative ways and the residue organic matter which could be used as fertilizer.

Phase 1 of this competition has approximately £1million available to fund 3-5 proposals and is looking for innovations from across the supply base – from academics, small and medium-sized enterprises and larger companies. The focus is on funding proof-of-concept (prototype) solutions. Additional funding is anticipated to be available for future phases, to move towards permanent systems for the MOD.