Superior Options for Long-life Solar Technologies with Impressive Conversion Efficiencies (SOLSTICE) Proposers’ Day

The IARPA Superior Options for Long-life Solar Technologies with Impressive Conversion Efficiencies (SOLSTICE) Proposers’ Day meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT in Washington DC, to introduce the SOLSTICE program to potential proposers and to provide information on technical requirements and program objectives. A virtual attendance option will also be available. The SOLSTICE program aims to develop novel solar-powered and hybrid solar-powered systems with significantly higher power density than existing technologies. These systems will be capable of maintaining performance over their mission lifetime in challenging remote applications, including in an earth-orbital environment (Track 1) and on the earth surface (Track 2). Novel component technologies and systems-level approaches will be leveraged to both maximize power output over a large range of operational conditions and mitigate anticipated failure modes. This will lead to a significant increase in the total energy yield of a power system over its intended lifetime and greater resilience against ever-present risks. IARPA seeks technical approaches that improve and look beyond individual component performance to consider the systems-level challenges and opportunities to enhance useable energy and minimize loss. Careful consideration of the intersection of novel and established component technologies, including photovoltaics, optics, thermal management/conversion, power electronics, energy storage, and other technical areas will be needed. The program will initially focus on component technology development as part of a system concept design, followed by system prototype development, testing, and refinement for target environments. A draft BAA technical section will be added to this announcement shortly. REGISTRATION Participants must register by Thursday, April 4, 2024, at noon EDT. Same day registrations will not be accepted. Limited spots are available for in-person attendance and early registration is encouraged. Only two attendees per organization or research group will be permitted to attend in person. The link to register is: https://www.client-meeting.net/solstice-proposers-day. Questions about this announcement can be emailed to [email protected] **UPDATE** - The SOLTICE Proposer's Day meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 , from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT in Washington DC, to introduce the SOLSTICE program to potential proposers and to provide information on technical requirements and program objectives. A virtual attendance option will also be available. REGISTRATION Participants must register by Friday, May 3, 2024 , at noon EDT. Same day registrations will not be accepted. Limited spots are available for in-person attendance and early registration is encouraged. Only two attendees per organization or research group will be permitted to attend in person. The link to register is: https://www.client-meeting.net/solstice-proposers-day. **UPDATE** - The technical portion of this DRAFT document is updated to reflect the updated technical requirements of the program and its objectives. The full version of the resultant BAA will be posted at a later date.