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TX03 — SBIR/STTR Power Portfolio

Created: 2026-04-05 (session 17) | Updated: session 18, 2026-04-05

Summary

TX03 (Aerospace Power and Energy Storage) contains 844 SBIR/STTR projects — the third-largest TX area by SBIR count. The portfolio is nearly exhausted: 99.3% completed, only 6 active. TRL advancement is worst-in-class: TRL 4 is the dominant outcome (29.7%), the TRL 6→7 cliff is 4.2:1 (worse than the overall SBIR average of 3:1), and only 0.8% reach TRL 8-9. The fission surface power supply chain (ACT, ThermAvant, QorTek, Creare, Luna) is a visible subset within a much larger TX03 portfolio spanning solar, Stirling, Brayton, and power electronics.

Portfolio Structure

Aggregate query: techport_portfolio_aggregate(group_by="trlCurrent", filter={"program": "SBIR/STTR", "primaryTx": "TX03"}) — snapshot 2026-04-04

TRL Count %
4 251 29.7%
(none/missing) 210 24.9%
3 125 14.8%
5 107 12.7%
6 79 9.4%
0 24 2.8%
2 21 2.5%
7 19 2.3%
9 3 0.4%
8 3 0.4%
1 2 0.2%
Total 844

Status breakdown: - Completed: 838 (99.3%) - Active: 6 (0.7%)

TRL Pipeline Analysis

TRL distribution puts TX03 at the bottom of the SBIR advancement league table:

Tier TRL Count %
Early 1-3 148 22.0%
Mid-low 4 251 29.7%
Mid 5-6 186 22.1%
High 7-9 25 3.0%
Missing — 234 27.7%

TRL 6→7 cliff: 79 projects exit at TRL 6; only 19 reach TRL 7. Ratio: 4.2:1. This is substantially worse than the overall SBIR average (3:1 from sbir-trl-pipeline.md) and consistent with the earlier finding that TX03 power is the worst-performing major technology area for SBIR advancement (3.8% reaching TRL 8 vs. TX11 software at 58%).

24.9% missing TRL is high relative to other TX areas. Combined with TRL 0 (2.8%), over a quarter of the portfolio provides no TRL signal. This is partly from early-era records (pre-2010) that predate systematic TRL tracking.

Interpretation: Power technologies that reach TRL 6 in SBIR context (breadboard demonstration) rarely get invested through to TRL 7 (system prototype). At high TRL, power conversion and generation systems likely transition to prime contractor (DoD/DoE/major aerospace), where TechPort has limited visibility.

Subcategory Observations

From search results (not an aggregate — subcategory level not available via portfolio_aggregate):

Subcategory Examples
TX03.1.1: Photovoltaic Solar simulators (Angstrom Designs), PV test tools
TX03.1.2: Heat Sources High-temp nuclear heat pipe, RPS heat source work
TX03.1.4: Dynamic Energy Conversion Stirling (SCCAQ, Infinia), Brayton (Creare), heat pipes (ACT, ThermAvant), radiators
TX03.1.6: Other Advanced Concepts TPV, advanced converters, APPLE NIAC
TX03.2.2: Electrochemical Storage: Fuel Cells H2 fuel cells for space
TX03.3.1: Management and Control PMAD, reactor I&C (Luna, Analysis & Measurement Services)
TX03.3.3: Power Conversion and Regulation SiC power electronics (CFD Research, QorTek, Mainstream Eng)
TX03.3.4: Advanced Electronic Parts Rad-hard components for power systems

Fission-specific supply chain (cross-ref fission-surface-power.md) sits primarily in TX03.1.4 and TX03.3.3. Key companies spanning both subcategories: - ACT (heat pipes, radiators): TRL 6-7 - ThermAvant (high-temp OHP): TRL 4-5 - QorTek (power conditioning): TRL 4-6 - CFD Research (SiC electronics): TRL 3-4 - Luna Innovations (neutron sensors): TRL 5 - Creare (Brayton, radiator): TRL 3-5

Active Projects (as of 2026-04-04)

All 6 active TX03 SBIR projects retrieved and analyzed (session 18). None is a fission-specific component. Two have FSP-infrastructure relevance:

ID Title Lead Org TX Subarea TRL Period Notes
158548 Low Mass, High Voltage Cables for Long Distance Lunar Power Distribution Astrobotic Technology TX03.3.2: Distribution 4→6 2024-2026 Direct FSP link — document names FSP nodes; 3kV/1kHz/10kW lunar microgrid spec from GRC MIPS team
158747 Radiation-Tolerant, High-Voltage Bidirectional DC-DC Converter PMIC Alphacore, Inc. TX03.3.3: Conversion 3→5 2024-2026 10kW, 100V→5000V — nuclear-scale spec; primarily marketed as PV/battery system
158755 High Energy Density Radiation Tolerant Capacitors for Cryogenic Temperature Applications Polycharge America TX03.3.3: Conversion 5→7 2024-2026 PPUs for cryogenic landers
158390 Radiation-Hardened, Programmable Battery Analog Front-End ASIC Alphacore, Inc. TX03.2.1: Batteries 3→5 2024-2026 Battery management ASIC
158701 A Radiation Hard Network on Chip Neural Processor with RRAM Green Mountain Semiconductor TX03.2.3: Advanced Energy Storage 3→5 2024-2026 TX mismatch confirmed — ML predicts TX02.1.1 (rad-hard components); this is an AI edge inference chip, not energy storage
182917 Simultaneous H2 Generation and Compression with Intermediate-Temperature Solid-Oxide Membranes Precision Combustion, Inc. TX03 (general) 3→4 2025-2027 H2 generation + compression — ISRU/fuel cell domain; plausible TX07 mismatch

Key observations: - 158548 (Astrobotic LunaGrid): Document (fileId 317005) explicitly names FSP — "Multiple VSAT and fission surface power nodes could be interconnected with long distance cabling solutions." The 3Φ, 3kV, 1kHz, 10kW transmission spec was recommended by GRC's "lunar microgrid definition and interface team (MIPS)." Non-NASA application: Astrobotic's LunaGrid commercial service ("Power as a Service" for CLPS landers, $300M market). This extends the FSP SBIR supply chain into surface distribution — the first documented SBIR targeting the FSP-to-load delivery layer. - 158701 is the clearest active mismatch — a compute-in-memory AI edge processor (RRAM + FD-SOI neural network) placed in TX03.2.3 "Advanced Concepts for Energy Storage." TechPort ML system flags it as TX02.1.1. - 182917 (solid-oxide membrane H2 generation) would be more naturally placed in TX07 (ISRU) or TX03.2.2 (Fuel Cells). Classified under TX03 general.

High-TRL Cohort (TRL 7–9, 25 projects)

Retrieved session 18. Query: techport_find_projects(program="SBIR/STTR", trl_min=7, primaryTx="TX03", status=null)

All 25 projects are Completed (no Active high-TRL TX03 SBIR).

Technology composition

Sub-area Count Representative Projects
TX03.1.1: Photovoltaic 9 Vanguard IMM (9885), MicroLink IMM (33229), MicroLink ELO (112889, TRL 9), Deployable Space Systems (102779, 112890), MMA Design BioSentinel (112976), Angstrom Designs simulators (17821, 33802)
TX03.3.1: Management and Control 5 Gridquant HELM (18475), EleQuant (93543, 102239), GeneSiC SiC gate driver (93652), Redwire MVP (102915, TRL 9)
TX03.2.1: Batteries 4 Xerion Li-metal (18161), ADA Li-S (154548), EP Systems BMS (113042, TRL 9), EP Systems BMS Phase II (154742)
TX03.3.3: Power Conversion 3 United SiC (16619), ExoTerra CubeSat SEP (90493), Sigma Technologies capacitors (113195)
TX03.1.4: Dynamic Energy Conversion 1 SCCAQ Stirling regenerator (89471)
TX03.1.2: Heat Sources 1 HI-Z RPS thermoelectrics (18464)
TX03.2.3: Advanced Energy Storage 1 Nanosonic CNT ultracapacitors (10306)
TX03.3.4: Advanced Electronic Parts 1 CoolCAD SiC (90177, TRL 8)

Solar PV is 36% of the high-TRL cohort — the dominant SBIR power success story. MicroLink Devices appears twice (33229 at TRL 7, 112889 at TRL 9) — consistent with their ELO solar cell leadership finding in session 8.

Zero fission components at TRL 7+. The only nuclear-adjacent project is 18464 (HI-Z Technology RPS thermoelectrics, TRL 6→7) — small radioisotope thermoelectric, not fission.

One Stirling component (89471: SCCAQ regenerator + heat exchanger assembly, TRL 5→7). Confirming that full Stirling systems are prime contractor territory; only a subcomponent reached high TRL in SBIR.

TRL 9 cases — data quality analysis

Three projects report TRL 9. All three have interpretation caveats:

ID Title TRL path Assessment
112889 MicroLink ELO solar cells (6-inch GaAs production) 8→9 Legitimate — production qualification for space solar cells; confirmed commercial supply chain
113042 EP Systems Active BMS (ABMS) 6→9 in 11 months Semantic inflation — purpose was eVTOL productization (Bell e4D); TRL 9 = aviation commercialization, not NASA flight qualification
102915 Redwire MVP (Multi-Purpose Variable-gravity Platform) 6→9 TX mismatch — MVP is an ISS life-science centrifuge (biology experiments), not a power technology; classified TX03.3.1 by error

EP Systems BMS detail (document evidence, fileId 377880): The briefing chart states "The purpose of this project is to mature the active BMS concept towards productization in the EVTOL market and for use with the Bell e4D project as the commercial development partner." Non-NASA applications listed: Bell Nexus, Embraer Sky, Boeing Personal Air Vehicle. NASA applications listed as speculative (RVLT, Artemis, X-57 Maxwell — could apply). TRL 9 here means aviation product, not space flight-proven hardware. This is a semantic gap between NASA TRL-9 ("actual system flight proven") and what SBIR reporters mean ("in commercial production").

Redwire MVP detail: The MVP is a dual-centrifuge platform for ISS biological/fluidic research that fits in a single rack space. It provides variable gravity (0g to ~2g). TX03.3.1 (Power Management and Control) is a clear mismatch — this should be in TX06 (Human Health/Life Support) or TX04 (Robotics/Autonomous Systems).

Taxonomy mismatches in high-TRL cohort

ID Title Assigned TX Why Wrong
9640 Statistical Decision Support Tools for Runway Management TX03.1.1: Photovoltaic Air traffic management algorithm — should be TX01 or aviation ops
102915 Redwire MVP (ISS centrifuge) TX03.3.1: Management and Control ISS life-science platform — should be TX06 or TX04

The runway management project (9640) is particularly egregious — it has nothing to do with photovoltaic power. This likely reflects a manual classification error in an early-era SBIR record (2011-2013).

Comparison with Other TX Areas

From sbir-trl-pipeline.md (session 12 analysis):

TX Area TRL 8 achievement rate Notes
TX11 Software 58% Best; software path-to-market easier
TX02 Communications ~50% at TRL 6 Near-perfect advancement at mid-TRL
TX03 Power 3.8% Worst; confirmed by 844-project aggregate
TX08 Sensors ~20%+ Middle tier

The 4.2:1 cliff at TRL 6→7 in TX03 is a structural feature, not selection bias. Power systems at TRL 6 have high capital requirements for system-level testing (fuels, radiators, thermal vacuum), making SBIR Phase II budgets insufficient to bridge the gap. High-TRL power system work transitions to prime contractors or government laboratories.

Relationship to FSP Supply Chain

The Fission Surface Power (ID: 105671, TDM, Active) program has mobilized the TX03.1.4 and TX03.3.3 supplier base. The ACT TRL 7 radiator deliverable (project 17803) is the only SBIR component confirmed via document to have been physically integrated into FSP test hardware. Other suppliers (ThermAvant, QorTek, CFD Research) completed Phase II work at TRL 4-6 with no documented FSP hardware delivery in TechPort.

The structural absence of Stirling engine and nuclear fuel work in SBIR confirms these are prime contractor/DoE domain (Aerojet, BWX Technologies) — not SBIR addressable.

Key Findings

  1. TX03 SBIR is effectively complete — 99.3% Completed, 6 Active (0.7%). The investable SBIR work in this area largely concluded before 2024.
  2. TRL 4 is the dominant outcome (29.7%) — consistent with a Phase II that validates a technology approach but cannot afford system-level demonstration.
  3. 4.2:1 cliff at TRL 6→7 — worst of all major TX areas. Power systems above TRL 6 require infrastructure (test facilities, propellants, thermal vacuum chambers) beyond Phase II scope.
  4. 25% missing TRL is above-average — confirms early-era data quality issues identified in field-completeness.md.
  5. FSP supply chain is a legible subset — ~10-20 projects traceable to FSP TDU program among 844 total. ACT (project 17803) is the documented deliverable; Astrobotic LunaGrid (158548) extends the chain into surface distribution.
  6. Solar PV dominates high-TRL — 9/25 (36%) of TRL 7-9 projects are photovoltaic; zero fission components at TRL 7+.
  7. TRL 9 in TX03 is unreliable — 2 of 3 TRL 9 projects have data quality issues: EP Systems BMS reached TRL 9 in aviation (eVTOL productization), not NASA space hardware; Redwire MVP is a life-science platform misclassified in TX03.
  8. Active TX03 includes two taxonomy mismatches — 158701 (neural AI processor in TX03.2.3 Energy Storage; ML flags as TX02.1.1) and 182917 (H2 generation in TX03, plausible TX07 mismatch).

Open Threads

  • Astrobotic LunaGrid (158548): Phase II completes June 2026. Will the cable/connector prototype reach TRL 6 target? Are there follow-on contracts?
  • Alphacore DC-DC (158747): Is this explicitly targeting FSP? The 10kW/5000V spec matches nuclear power conditioning; document may clarify.
  • EP Systems BMS (154742, TRL 7→9, 2023-2025): Second BMS project — same aviation-commercialization pattern? Worth checking if this also self-reports TRL 9 for aviation customers.
  • ELO solar cell success story: MicroLink 112889 (TRL 9) — what missions actually flew ELO solar cells? Not visible from TechPort alone.

Cross-References