DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office will be actively monitoring ERIS for game-changing, foundational mechanisms – rather than modular, integrated cooling packages – capable of fundamentally disrupting legacy thermodynamic limits across diverse Defense application spaces until 30 September 2026.
DARPA is exploring the development of foundational technologies that enable a paradigm shift away from parasitic “bolt-on” cooling and toward novel, intrinsic thermal vectoring architectures.
They are seeking unconstrained concepts that treat thermal management as a design variable rather than a boundary condition. Key research and innovations are expected to focus on developing novel methods and mechanisms to efficiently route, dissipate, or transduce extreme thermal loads.
Potential solutions are to be uploaded to the ERIS portal under Topic Area 2 – Developing advanced technologies for improved resilience, efficiency, and effectiveness of strategic systems.
Document
ERIS Monitoring Notice – Thermal Management – DARPA-SN-26-103
