BEST START convened defense, government, academic, and industry leaders for a three-day event showcasing advanced energy and power technologies designed to enhance operational resilience and warfighter capability. The event featured demonstrations from BEST START’s partner companies, who are developing solutions in energy resilience, power generation, autonomous operations, thermal management, and microgrids. These technologies address key Department of Defense priorities, including reducing fuel logistics risks, improving energy security in contested environments, supporting distributed operations, and meeting the growing power demands of AI-enabled and autonomous systems. Read the full press release from the event.
Maxwell Labs previewed laser cooling across three key material platforms: ion-doped crystals, molecular dye dispersions, and semiconductors.
LEMA Defense demonstrated dual axis solar array by powering a surveillance tower equipped with batteries, inverters, and a generator.
BWR Innovations debuted a clean sheet 5 kW hydrogen fuel cell in an off grid backup power scenario engineered for extreme demands.
Exergi Predictive demonstrated fuel-efficiency gain compared to state-of-the-art heuristic control strategies.
BEST START Technology Demonstration attendees tour the UST Data Visualization Lab.
Aza Power demonstrated their Rugged Ammonia Mobile Power Source (RAMPS) ammonia-fueled generator.
SYNCRIS demonstrated their patented Silicon Carbide (SiC) inverters, which enable rapid design, deployment, and mobility of microgrids for the warfighter.
Ascentek demonstrated two identical diesel generators started with lead acid and sodium-ion battery packs cold-soaked to –40°C, both instrumented under simulated arctic viscosity conditions.