SBIR Awards at PADT

In 1999 PADT started looking for ways to leverage our various skills to further develop some intellectual property.  We had been doing projects for a variety of customers who were participating in the Small Business Innovative Research program through the federal government (SBIR), and we thought it might not be a bad idea to try going for a few SBIR’s of our own to help us get from that “startup” stage to the “established” phase.  It worked, over the following ten years PADT was successfully awarded 13 SBIR grants.

While we were in the thick of it we really did not keep track of things from a marketing perspective.  But as we prepare to launch the new Product Development portion of the PADT Blog, we thought it would be a good time to look back and summarize what we did and share it with our readers.

One thing that sets PADT apart in the world of SBIR’s is our high level of commercialization.  Although not all of the awards PADT received turned into commercial products, many did.  And bits and pieces from each project help PADT increase our experience and tool set.

Here is a list of the SBIR’s we have been awarded over the years:

Miniature Air Handling System for Portable Fuel Cell Power Supplies
US Army	1999	Phase I
This was our first SBIR and it was also our first project that involved pumping or blowing for fuel cells.  We learned a lot on this project and many of the follow on SBIR and commercial products we developed in this area are based on the technology developed here.

Ultra Low Weight Turbomolecular Pump
NASA	1999	Phase I
JPL was interested in developing a very low weight vacuum pump (TMP) that they could use on their interplanetary explorers so they could run their experiments in a vacuum.  This project had a lot of issues to overcome, not the least of which was how to manufacture the thing.

Ultra Low Weight Turbomolecular Pump
NASA	2000	Phase II
Our proof of concept in Phase I was good enough to win PADT a Phase II contract for the ULWTMP design.  Now our ideas had to be put to work. We did solve a lot of the problems, especially the manufacturing issues. At the end of the project the only issue left undone was the rotordynamics problem that is encountered at the speeds of a TMP with a magnetic bearing.

Miniature Air Handling System for Portable Fuel Cell Power Supplies
US Army	2000	Phase II
PADT took what we learned in Phase I of this project and developed a family of vane compressors that met the unique needs of the US Army.  We developed an entire family of pumping solutions and tested them to develop a good understanding of their capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Fuel Cell Based Portable Hybrid Power Supply
US Army	2000	Phase I
This phase I project involved the design of a portable hybrid power supply that combined batteries and a hydrogen fuel cell.  The end product was a conceptual design for a light way power solution for US soldiers.  PADT built a working demonstrator model that highlighted the control system, the custom fuel cell, and the pumping solution.

Fuel Cell Based Portable Hybrid Power Supply
US Army	2001	Phase II
This follow on project focused on the detailed design of a light weight portable power supply that used hydrogen to drive a fuel cell.  We produced a working demonstration product at the conclusion if of the effort. PADT was able to use all aspects of our company: simulation, design, test, prototyping, system integration, and manufacturing. The technology developed was used successfully to develop a complete hybrid system for a methanol fuel cell manufacturer who applied it to commercial applications.

Aerosol Collection Technology
US Army	2001	Phase I
After the events of 9/11 the US Army had an interest in being able to detect air born biological weapons. Although they had good detectors, they needed a device that would use aerodynamics to collect air and separate out particles of a certain size. In Phase I of this project PADT used our CFD capability and rotating machinery design experience to develop a conceptual device for this application.

Aerosol Collection Technology
US Army	2003	Phase II
For Phase II of this project PADT produced a working prototype and tested it with the help of Arizona State University. The testing showed that the technology was viable.  Fortunately, as time passed so did the potential threat and no market really opened up looking for such a device.

Low Cost Hot Anode Recycle Blower for SOFC Systems
DOE	2005	Phase I
PADT applied our fuel cell pumping knowledge to develop a pumping system that could work with the very high temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell systems that the government was looking at using for aircraft applications.

Miniature Disposable Drug Infusion Pump
DOD	2005	Phase I
The department of defense is always focused on improving their ability to treat wounded soldiers in the field. One area that needed improvement in 2005 was the ability to deliver drugs in the battlefield with a portable lightweight design that had many special features which would allow a non-expert to administer the drugs. PADT investigated several different solutions and produced a conceptual design.

Low Cost Hot Anode Recycle Blower for SOFC Systems
DOE	2006	Phase II
For the follow-up on this project PADT built a working system for pumping very high temperature fuel in a solid oxide fuel cell loop.  We also tested the system, at temperature, under a variety of operating conditions.

High Temperature Blower Development For SOFC Applications
DOE	2006	Phase I
PADT received an additional Phase I grant in this area to explore other options and to improve on the system developed as part of the low cost program.

Instruments and Devices To Preserve Molecular Profiles In Tumors
NIH	2009	Phase I
PADT first NIH project looked at developing a device that would freeze tissue biopsy samples during their extraction from a patient, or just after.  PADT developed a working prototype, the ReadyFreeze, that was very successful at allowing the user to freeze biopsy samples very shortly after extraction.