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 help stop high-bandwidth battlefield radios from emitting too much heat.

These radios play a vital role in battlefield intelligence, but heat can create detectable infrared signals and degrade hardware performance. The need is for innovative solutions to enable high-power radios to run for longer, while keeping heat emissions to a minimum. The solution should be compact and something that can be retrofitted into existing hardware without creating a piece of tech which is too big or too complex.

The target is a demonstrator at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 – to be achieved in the 12-week assignment.

Relevant applicant expertise will most likely represent the technology themes of applied research, communication systems, electronic engineering, manufacturing, material science and engineering, modelling and simulation, mechanical engineering, radio systems or systems engineering.

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 5 – demonstrator (technology basic validation in a relevant 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 at the start of September 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 5 - demonstrator, 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 mid-September 2026

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on August 4th, 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

Signal congestion and adversary jamming are just some of the obstacles operational staff can encounter when trying to manage secure, battlefield communications. High-power, portable radio systems are all-important to make safe communications possible. These are relied on to securely enable the transfer of tactical data, including streaming high bandwidth information and intelligence back to headquarters.

However, the increased processing power and transmission levels required for this data can generate significant waste heat. If left unmanaged, this heat can degrade equipment performance, reduce hardware lifespan, and create a thermal signature that can be detected by enemy sensors.

The need is for innovative heat dissipation solutions that can be integrated across a diverse range of software defined radio systems, from existing hardware to future platforms, to ensure operational reliability and personnel safety.

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

The Challenge

The challenge is focused on developing and commoditizing heat dissipation methods for high-power software defined radio systems. Although exact models of the radio system can not be supplied, awarded Solvers will be directed to relevant similar commercial models during the assignment project.

The outcome should be a demonstrator after a 12-week project, to minimum TRL 5 (technology basic validation in a relevant environment).

Managing thermal loads in electronic components is a persistent engineering challenge. While traditional methods, such as thermal interface material, heat sinks, heat pipes, and active cooling (fans or liquid cooling) are effective, they each present significant trade-offs regarding size, weight, power, and reliability.

Because no single ’one size fits all’ solution exists, this challenge seeks a versatile heat transfer method that can be commoditized for broader national security and defense procurement. It should be possible to retrofit this solution into high-power radio systems while remaining adaptable for other critical user cases.

Consider this use case: A commander’s unit is operating in a battlefield where maintaining a low electronic and thermal signature is critical for survival.

To avoid detection and targeting by adversaries, the unit must adhere to strict emission control procedures.

To maintain command control with headquarters, the unit employs a multi-band, multi waveform field software defined radio using Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands. The radio is used to send back critical information, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data transfers. The equipment is person portable, housed in a portable transit case (approximately 50L), designed for rapid deployment by personnel.

Due to the requirement for sustained high-power transmission at 20W over extended periods of time, the radio generates significant waste heat. If used for too long it can cause drift in frequency, electronic component degradation and a thermal signature that could be picked up be an adversary.

The commander needs a thermal management solution to dissipate heat effectively without needing to make the radio kit bigger in size or compromising power efficiency. Given the operational environment, the solution must be ‘plug-and-play', requiring no specialized maintenance or additional technical training for the operator, ensuring seamless integration with existing field-deployable hardware.

Solution Requirements

The assignment is to develop a demonstrator after a 12-week project, to minimum TRL 5 (technology basic validation in a relevant environment).

Essential requirements:

• Must show a working prototype, delivering this to sponsors for independent testing
• Must be small enough to integrate with person-portable, field-deployable radio equipment.
• Must add no complexity to the system from the user’s perspective
• Develop a roadmap to a low-cost solution
• Must be applicable for a land-based solution
• Must minimize the thermal signature without reducing electronic power efficiency

Desirable requirements:

• Low noise solution
• Could be applicable to maritime and air domains
• Passive cooling methods are preferred however active cooling is within scope
• The proposal should aim to deliver more than the minimum for the project, with a project plan post phase 1
  • Consider dual-use opportunities and commercial exploitation routes (do think beyond UK defense)

Constraints:

• The existing radio system fits within a 50-litre portable container
• The software defined radio operated in the 0 – 40 GHz domain and at 20W continuous and up to 50W for 30 seconds

Not required:

• A horizon scan.

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 5 - technology basic validation in a relevant environment.
3. Can you start the assignment from mid-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 August 4th, 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 main 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.