Sources Sought
Solid-State Energy Conversion from Heat to Electricity Request for Information (RFI)
Department of Defense · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
AI summaryRequest for information (RFI), DARPA-SS-27-01: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office asks for the state of the art in solid-state heat-to-electricity conversion, meaning devices with no moving parts. Responses help plan possible future research programs and are not offers. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern. More in the summary
Market research, not a bid. Replying is free and tells Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) who could do this work. Send a short reply to the contracting contact; no price is needed. See the contact
AI summary Beta
Request for information (RFI), DARPA-SS-27-01: the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office asks for the state of the art in solid-state heat-to-electricity conversion, meaning devices with no moving parts. Responses help plan possible future research programs and are not offers. The response due date is November 23, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern.
How to submit: Email unclassified responses to DARPA-SS-27-01@darpa.mil. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (4)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Worth checking: Technical, research-level content. The RFI asks for quantitative technical data, models and references on advanced energy conversion, which suits research firms and universities more than typical service contractors.
- Minor: Information request only, not a contract opportunity. Responses are not offers, DARPA does not pay for the cost of responding and no award follows from this notice.
- Minor: No classified information; label proprietary pages. The response goes to an unclassified email address, and proprietary pages must be marked by the sender.
Show all 4Show fewer
- Minor: Send questions to the RFI email address. Emails to the Program Manager may go unanswered.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- DARPA-SS-27-01.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Current capability: the most efficient solid-state heat-to-electricity converters that exist today, with operating point, efficiency method, and size, weight and power
- Technology potential: what performance gains are achievable and the evidence that current barriers can be overcome
- Applications: which uses would most benefit, with the efficiency, power or size, weight and power thresholds that would make solid-state the clear choice
- Technology readiness level (TRL: a 1-to-9 scale of how mature a technology is) of demonstrated and projected performance
- Technical information, models and test data where available
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Offers due
- November 23, 2026, 4:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email unclassified responses to DARPA-SS-27-01@darpa.mil
- Page limits
- Cover sheet: 1 page. Technical description: 5 pages. Bibliography/references: 2 pages. Prior research, capabilities and publications: 1 page. Optional graphic overview slide: 1 slide.
What to include when you submit
- Format: 12-point font, single-spaced, single-sided, 8.5 by 11-inch paper, 1-inch margins, in MS Word or Adobe PDF.
- Cover sheet gives the response title and the technical point of contact's name, organization, telephone number and email address.
- Send non-proprietary information where possible; label any page with proprietary information "Proprietary" or "Company Proprietary".
- Do not include classified information in the response sent to the unclassified email address.
- Send questions to the same email address, not to the DARPA Program Manager directly.
- A single PowerPoint slide showing the main ideas is optional but highly encouraged.
Not in the notice text
- Whether a future DARPA program or solicitation will follow, and its size, dates or set-aside, is not stated.
- Place of performance is not stated.
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside. Any business can reply: this is market research, and no bid is being taken yet.
- To respond, send a short reply to the contracting contact near the top of this page. No price is needed.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Sources Sought
- Office
- Def Advanced Research Projects Agcy, Arlington, VA
- Product/service code
- AC11 · National Defense R&D Services; Department of Defense – Military; Basic Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541715)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
Terms on this notice: Sources sought notice
Full notice text from SAM.gov
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