Future Battlefield Energy: 2009 DIA Report Examines Nonconventional Power Sources for U.S. Troops

A document released from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by The Black Vault, outlines a detailed vision of advanced, nonconventional energy sources intended to power the U.S. military’s “future soldier.” Originally classified and now released with redactions, the 2009 report titled Technology Forecast: Nonconventional Energy Sources for the Future Soldier (DAR 8-350-09) offers an in-depth assessment of technologies expected to reshape battlefield power generation by 2030.

According to the report, “compact, efficient, lightweight, and long-lasting energy technologies are emerging as a force multiplier in military affairs.” The analysis identifies a growing need for portable power sources capable of meeting the increasing energy demands of soldiers operating a wide array of electronics – from communications systems to wearable sensors.

The DIA describes a plausible 2030 conflict scenario in which soldiers rely on an array of innovative technologies: “Small, nonthermal nuclear batteries continuously recharge their conventional batteries while performing their missions. Soldiers’ uniforms are embedded with piezoelectric fibers and nanoantennas that convert motion and body heat into electrical power.”

In this future environment, soldiers could deploy wind-harvesting devices while resting, receive wireless power from vehicles during transit, and recharge simply by leaving backpacks inside tents embedded with nanoantenna solar collectors. Thermoelectric generators on vehicles would recycle engine heat into electricity. Base camps would feature “motion and chemical sensors powered by small fuel cells containing bacteria” that operate for years without maintenance.

While the report evaluates a wide range of experimental energy systems, it emphasizes the promise of microturbine generators, noting that they have the “potential to produce 10 times more power than today’s best lithium-ion batteries of the same weight.” Other technologies surveyed include betavoltaic nuclear batteries, microbial fuel cells, thermoelectric generators, piezoelectric devices, and even speculative concepts like zero-point energy.

A technology summary table shows betavoltaics with the highest theoretical energy density – 131,400 watt-hours per kilogram – followed by microturbines at 1,500 W·h/kg. Lithium-ion batteries, by comparison, are rated at 150 W·h/kg. However, the report cautions that some technologies, such as antimatter-based power sources, remain impractical within the next 25 years.

The analysis is based almost entirely on open-source intelligence and includes an international review of research efforts. Nations such as China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Russia are actively pursuing advancements in these areas. The report notes that China’s research into betavoltaic batteries “appears to follow U.S. initiatives in the field,” while South Korea is developing piezoelectric systems for sensor networks. The U.S. leads in nanowire piezoelectric research, primarily through the Georgia Institute of Technology, though the report acknowledges that Georgia Tech “is actively working with several Chinese and Taiwan universities.”

Despite global activity, the DIA judged “with high confidence that the United States maintains technological superiority in the technologies reviewed and should continue to dominate for the next 5 to 10 years.” However, it also warned that dual-use energy technologies with commercial or humanitarian applications such as solar cells, microbial fuel cells, and wind power, “will probably be developed and incorporated into military systems more quickly and at less cost than will technologies lacking such applications.”

The report concludes by exploring associated concepts such as wireless power transmission and the Casimir effect in nanoelectromechanical systems. Wireless power, it says, could enable soldiers to recharge gear simply by being near a transmitting source “independent of the geometry of the surrounding space and… not affected when objects obstruct the line of sight.”

Redactions throughout the document invoke FOIA Exemptions (b)(1), (b)(3), and (b)(6), with information withheld for reasons including national security classification under Executive Order 13526, protection of intelligence sources and methods under 50 U.S.C. § 3024(i), and safeguarding agency functions under 10 U.S.C. § 424.

The full document is now archived on The Black Vault below.

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Technology Forecast: Nonconventional Energy Sources for the Future Soldier [14 Pages, 3MB]

 

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