Request for Information (RFI) on Biomimetic and Bioenabled Supercapacitors

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) seeks information regarding innovations in Biomimetic and Bioinspired Supercapacitors (BBS) that could achieve a substantial leap in power storage. To this end, IARPA is interested in understanding the current research landscape of BSS approaches and those technical hurdles that need to be addressed in order to improve and employ these technologies.

This RFI is issued for planning purposes only and does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or suggest the procurement of any materials, data sets, etc. Current supercapacitor technology bridges the gap between capacitors and rechargeable batteries, storing much more energy per unit volume than traditional electrolytic capacitors and are able to tolerate more cycles than rechargeable batteries [1,2,3].

Supercapacitors have a lower energy density than rechargeable batteries, meaning they can’t store as much energy per unit volume, but they have a higher energy density than traditional capacitors. In terms of power (the speed at which energy can be absorbed or delivered), supercapacitors can have a substantial higher power density than rechargeable batteries. As a consequence, supercapacitors showcase charge/discharge times smaller than batteries, but larger than capacitors.

Therefore, in general, batteries are better geared for high energy demand, capacitors are more appropriate for high power demand, while supercapacitors bridge these two regimes. Responses to this RFI are due no later than 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, April 15, 2024. All submissions must be electronically submitted to dni-iarpa-rfi-24-04@iarpa.gov as a PDF document. Inquiries to this RFI must be submitted to dni-iarpa-rfi-24-04@iarpa.gov. Do not send questions with proprietary content. No telephone inquiries will be accepted.