Need

Wazoku, the Seeker for this Innocentive Marketplace Expertise Challenge, on behalf of the HMGCC and the UK national security community, is seeking innovators for an assignment to develop the next generation of sensors to protect against chemical and biological hazards.

Early detection of chemical and biological hazards is the most effective way to limit harm and enact a proportionate response to protect lives and assets. The need is to develop next-generation sensors to enhance the ability to detect a broad range of chemical and biological substances in real-time.

The target is a demonstrator at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 - basic laboratory validation, that can be integrated into existing safety-monitoring networks.

We welcome Solvers working on early proofs of concept for detecting chemical and biological substances, which are airborne in gas, vapor and aerosol forms, as well as those in liquid or solid states.

Applicants from diverse sectors are encouraged to apply, including healthcare, food, environment and agri-tech are welcomed, that can bring new perspectives and expertise to the resilience and security sectors. Expertise will most likely represent the technology themes of applied research, biology, chemistry, data analytics, electronic engineering, healthcare, materials science and engineering, software development, systems engineering or quantum technologies.

Collaboration Opportunity

This is a Marketplace Expertise Challenge seeking a partner with the expertise to take part in an assignment for the UK national security community, to develop a demonstrator during a 12-week project, to a minimum TRL 4 - basic validation in a laboratory environment. The Solver is invited to submit a written proposal to be first evaluated by Wazoku and finalists by the UK national security community with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership for the assignment with funding up to $65,000.

Solvers with a viable application will be supported by Wazoku:

• With the potential to be invited to pitch their application mid-August to the UK national security community
• Up to 2 applications could be selected for the assignment with funding up to $65,000 to develop a demonstrator during a 12-week project, to a minimum TRL 4 - basic laboratory validation, with a future roadmap of development
• The UK national security community will provide funding for time, materials, overheads and other indirect expenses for successful projects
• The target for starting the assignment is September 2026

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on July 21st, 2026.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

- Login or register your interest to apply!

Seeker/Eligibility

Wazoku is an innovation ecosystem platform encompassing AI, market intelligence, venture building, patent analysis and open talent networks. It centralises data, talent, and tools to make innovation measurable, impactful and able to solve pressing challenges.

Wazoku also operate Innocentive open innovation Challenges like this one, supporting the preeminent problem solver community who have delivered breakthrough results for organisations like NASA, the UK Ministry of Defence, the International Rescue Committee, and ExxonMobil.

HMGCC represents the UK national security community, with UK government, academia, private sector partners and international allies to bring engineering ingenuity to the national security mission, creating tools and technologies that drive us ahead and help to protect the nation. The partnership between HMGCC and Dstl (Defence Science and Technology Laboratory), was created to deliver a new, bold and innovative way of working with the wider science and technology community to bring together the best in class across industry, academia, and government, to work collaboratively on UK national security engineering challenges and accelerate innovation.

This challenge is open to sole innovators, industry, academic and research organizations of all types and sizes. There is no requirement for security clearances.

Applications from Solvers in countries listed by the UK government under trade sanctions and/or arms embargoes are NOT eligible.

Challenge

Background

The UK National Risk Register highlights the importance of maintaining effective capabilities to identify and respond to the release of hazardous chemical and biological materials to protect public safety in the UK and abroad. While large-scale incidents are uncommon, emergency services regularly respond to smaller hazardous events, for example illicit drug-lab releases and accidental spills.

Improving resilience by enabling the earliest and most informative warning possible will ensure the most effective cross-agency response from healthcare, policing and other emergency services.

The Challenge

This challenge is to develop a novel upgradeable sensor that can be deployed in any environment, providing rapid and early sensing of any chemical and biological hazard as part of a wider networked sensing capability.

Current chemical and biological detection technologies can face challenges, such as:

• Too specific – many current technologies are designed to detect specific chemical or biological substances, which can limit flexibility across a broader range of scenarios.
• Time-consuming to upgrade – adapting systems to incorporate improvements or respond to newly identified substances can be time‑consuming, with development and deployment timescales that may not always align with emerging needs.
• Too long to detect – timely detection is important to support an effective and coordinated response to potential hazards.
• Cost, size and power trade-off – as sensors become more advanced the trade-off may reduce the number of locations and users that can use the sensor.

There is the need to enhance current capabilities to extend performance across a wider range of scenarios by developing a cutting-edge, upgradeable sensing system that can rapidly detect a wide variety of chemical and biological agents, with improved sensitivity, low error rate, and requiring limited maintenance.

There are some questions and answers here that may be helpful to consider, as you compile your application.

Consider this use case: A security officer is responsible for the safety of an installation that supports a range of government, humanitarian and logistical activities. The site is a self-contained complex that houses staff, visitors and critical equipment, and it operates in an environment where the risk of a chemical or biological hazard may arise and require appropriate management.

A new prototype chemical and biological sensor hub is installed to explore improved detection and monitoring capabilities. The main unit is linked to a security-operations console, with sensor nodes deployed both internally and externally throughout the site. During a brief calibration period the hub learns the local ambient profile, temperature, humidity and background particle levels.

Two weeks after commissioning, the sensor detects a sudden rise in a volatile signature, identifying a potentially hazardous substance in concentrations above expected environmental levels. Within seconds of detection, the hub sends an alarm with encrypted data to the responsible officer, who initiates containment and emergency procedures.

A post-event review shows the signature matched an industrial pesticide that had been inadvertently released nearby. The system autonomously logs this new data and has the ability to learn from these events. The trial proves to be a success, and with the relatively low cost of purchase and installation of this commercially available product, there is a plan to role the chemical and biological sensor hubs out to other sites.

Solution Requirements

The assignment is to develop a demonstrator during a 12-week project, to a minimum TRL 4 - basic validation in a laboratory environment, and with a future roadmap of development.

Essential requirements:

• Must show a working prototype and then deliver the prototype to the sponsors for independent verification
• A sensing unit must detect multiple chemical and biological substances in the same unit
• Must detect, identify, quantify and monitor hazardous chemical and biological substances in situ with no requirement for lab-based analysis
• Must be able to detect substances in gas, vapor, and aerosol phase
• Must be small enough to be deployed into the existing infrastructure of a building
• Sensors must be able to be networked to each other and a central system
• Consider low maintenance and easy use by a non-technical user.
• Must be operable in busy, noisy, dirty and potentially polluted environments.
• Produce a roadmap that shows targets to:
  • Sense hundreds or thousands of chemical and biological substances
  • An upgradable unit, ideally remotely through software
  • Projected future costs of units

Desirable requirements:

• Consider route to minimize false alarms of non-damaging substances such as pollen
• Potential to detect non-volatile liquid or solid substances without contact between the sensor and the hazardous substance
• Potential to develop further iterations that are deployable and/or handheld
• Consider cybersecurity framework

Not required:

• A high technology readiness sensor unit that does not fulfil long term requirements and cannot be upgraded
• A standalone horizon scan of research and available sensors. This can form part of the work, but must not be the sole objective

Finalists will be scored 1-5 on the following criteria:

Feasibility

• What is the technical credibility of the minimum viable product proposed?
  • Is it technically possible?
  • Are there key technical risks overlooked?
• Likelihood of the minimum viable product reaching or exceeding the minimum required TRL?
  • Does the proposal aim to reach the minimum TRL?
  • Assessors’ confidence in the proposal from technical perspective?
  • Will the proposal exceed the minimum TRL?
• Credibility of the solver/team regarding technical and project management skills?
  • Does the team have all the relevant expertise?
  • How experienced are they?
  • Have they delivered something similar before?

Desirability

• How closely does the proposal directly address the challenge?
  • Does the proposal achieve all essential requirements?
  • How many desirable requirements are achieved?
  • Is this something the user’s want?
• How well is the benefit for government and dual-use described?
  • Is the benefit to the user’s well described?
  • Have the applicants identified dual-use markets? (Applicants should consider markets beyond UK security)
• Ambition of the proposed solution?
  • Does the solution provide an incremental step in capability or significant leap?
  • Is the proposed solution unique to the applicants?

Viability

• How well is the exploitation route described?
  • Is the proposal just aiming to deliver the minimum for the project? Or have they got a project plan post phase 1?
  • Are they thinking about commercial exploitation routes? (please do think beyond UK security)
  • Are there rough costings for future iterations?
• How well does the proposal demonstrate value for money and are the costs broken down and justified?
• How much time and resource is spent on a project for the cost?
• Is there a perceived high ambition for the cost?
• Is there a robust costing plan?
• How well is the project delivery described leading to the minimum viable product?
  • Is there a Gantt chart or similar?
  • Are there proposed outcomes after each sprint?
  • Are the applicants experienced in Agile methodology?

Your Submission

Please login and register your interest, to complete the submission form and add attachments.

The submitted applications must be written in English and include:

1. Participation type – you will first be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Do you have relevant expertise to develop a demonstrator during a 12-week project, to a minimum TRL 4 - basic validation in a laboratory environment.
3. Can you start the assignment from September 2026?
4. Maximum 6 page attachment (Word format) describing how you would deliver the assignment;
   1. Scope - Describe how the project aligns to the challenge scope and solution requirements stated above
   2. Innovation - Describe the innovation and technology intended to be delivered in the project, along with new IP that will be generated or existing IP that can be used
   3. Deliverables - Describe the project outcomes and their impacts
   4. Timescale - Detail how a minimum viable product (MVP)/the demonstrator, will be achieved within the project duration
   5. Budget - Provide project finances against deliverables within the project duration
5. Supplementary Attachments – Mandatory is key team personnel CVs and expertise, and/or organizational profile.

Participation Guidance

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on July 21st, 2026.
2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.
3. Multiple submissions, One Maximum: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only one submission – the final one submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.
4. Submission form and attachments: Your submission attachment should be no longer than 6 pages.
5. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, Wazoku will review and select the solutions it will propose and position with the UK national security community, according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
6. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
7. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.