Aerostat technology is highly sought after by military and law enforcement to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and enhance network communications capabilities in land and sea platforms. Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have developed ultra-strong, ultra-lightweight aerogels to be used in an air-buoyant vacuum vessel (aka a vacuum balloon). This Lab-developed vessel floats in the air by the same principles as a helium weather balloon, blimp, or aerostat, but is filled with “nothing” (i.e., vacuum) instead of helium, which is becoming more scarce and thus expensive. To achieve buoyancy, a solid hollow structure has been made from material strong enough to withstand the crushing force of atmospheric pressure, yet light enough to float when the vacuum is applied to the interior. Los Alamos is seeking to commercialize this technology through licensing or collaborative research as the next step. The Challenge: Scientists at LANL recognized the impact that ever-increasing scarcity and expense of helium would have on several technology sector applications. For example, helium is vital for cooling supercritical magnets required for medical imaging, to cool nuclear reactors, to keep rocket fuel cool during liftoff, and in the operation of scientific colliders and accelerators. With helium becoming less available, priority given to medical, space exploration, and scientific research is anticipated to take precedence over commercial applications of helium. Therefore, there was a need to find a helium alternative to air buoyant applications. By using vacuum in place of helium, the need for helium could be reduced, if not eliminated, from the entire sector of weather balloon, blimp, aerostat and airship applications that compete for this resource. For this reason, LANL developed the vacuum vessel technology. How it Works: The Lab’s vacuum vessel technology is based on the surprising discovery that ultra-light weight aerogel and cryogel materials composed mostly of empty space (98% or more) are able to isolate vacuum from atmosphere. This discovery led to the development of high-strength aerogel materials that could be formed into geometries necessary for the construction of vacuum vessels. Vacuum vessels have been produced and tested, demonstrating that they can be manufactured from thin-walled shells of these materials with a variety of geometries (i.e., spherical, cylindrical, torus, close-ended tubulation). Key Advantages: Decreases the cost of weather balloon, blimp, and aerostat applications Provides means of transport and delivery to remote locations Facilitates the construction of large-scale airships Eliminates hydrogen safety concerns for large aerostats Lowers operating costs than He aerostats Variable altitude control improves resilience under adverse weather conditions Aerogel manufacturing technology can be readily scaled for larger vacuum vessels Market Applications: Aerostat Systems Persistent Surveillance Systems US Patent 11,027,816 LA-UR-25-28003 LANL Tech Partnerships: Unlock the Innovative Potential Los Alamos National Laboratory offers a wide range of cutting-edge technologies and capabilities that may provide your company with a competitive edge in the market and unlock the innovative potential that can enhance, refine, and revolutionize your products. LANL’s licensing program focuses on moving inventions developed by our researchers to commercial innovations. Patented and patent pending inventions and copyrighted software are available to existing and start-up companies through exclusive and non-exclusive licensing agreements. For specific discussions, please contact
[email protected]. Note: This is not a call for external services for the development of this technology. https://www.lanl.gov/engage/collaboration/feynman-center/partner-with-us/licensing-technology https://www.lanl.gov/engage/collaboration/feynman-center/tech-and-capability-search