What project WP-01 buys
The Biologically Based Materials and Devices project will leverage the growing application space of the biological sciences for the development of new DoW capabilities to improve the sustainability of warfighters and operational platforms in varied domains. This project will develop solutions for critical resource processing, materials development, threat detection and characterization, and warfighter resilience to infectious disease. The materials and technologies developed through this project will protect and sustain warfighters and operations in austere conditions, enhancing warfighter resiliency and lethality. Prior to FY 2026, efforts in this Project were funded in PE 0602715E, Project MBT-02.
Project WP-01 funding, FY2025–FY2031
Prior years are actuals, the budget year is the request, and the outyears are the FYDP plan. Estimate types are colored and never summed into one figure. Projects carry the full five-year plan; the activities inside them stop at the budget year.
| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 125.7 |
| FY2027 | Request | 147.0 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 142.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 164.5 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 166.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 170.1 |
12 accomplishments / planned programs
The R-2A exhibit — the only level of the budget that describes work that has not happened yet. Activities carry the prior, current and budget year only, no five-year plan. 6 of them describe FY2027 work in enough detail to have their own page; the rest are shown here in full. Coverage is partial across the corpus, so count activities, never total them.
- Demonstrate model-driven, rational design of biological candidates and increase strength and selectivity of metal/mineral interactions. - Evaluate top biological metal/mineral processing candidates under real-world processing workflows and conditions. - Perform process durability assessments. - Refine the list of candidate biological…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Initiate technology development for the integration of dynamic and responsive biological organisms or bio-inspired molecules into composite materials. - Investigate approaches for the development of biological processes and biologically derived materials to support and sustain the warfighter in austere conditions. - Explore methods…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Optimize technology development for use against the Brown Tree Snake. - Identify novel cell culture techniques to significantly enhance gene editing technology development in vertebrates. - Test effectiveness of vertebrate gene editing tools in laboratory trials. - Test effectiveness of gene editing technology in field trials for the…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Investigate approaches for the development of chemical and biological processes and biologically derived materials to support and sustain the warfighter in all conditions. - Initiate formulation and characterization of materials chemistries for the catalytic separation of domestic agricultural and forestry residues at the laboratory…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Complete long term plant growth and stabilization for selected species to support scaling approach. - Complete chemical exposure experiments to identify biochemical, molecular, and physiological patterns associated with exposure of plants to target stressors. - Evaluate plant exposure using multi-omics and external observable…
Read the FY2027 plan →- Expand biology-based switching to include multiple pathways for consuming different feedstocks or producing different chemicals. - Extend the stability of biological systems for continuous production. - Implement approaches for switchable production in an industrially-relevant biomanufacturing system.
Read the FY2027 plan →FY2027 planned work - Increase power generation from conversion of organic matter compared to initial brassboard systems. - Validate that final brassboard systems can perform in stakeholder domains.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects a shift in focus from technology development and prototype building activities to final field testing and analysis.
FY2026 plans — current year - Perform a Biosafety Design and Analysis for each initial brassboard system in development to assess all required biosafety control measures employed by the systems. - Finalize initial brassboard system designs that will be used for field demonstration. - Complete a technology field demonstration to demonstrate conversion of organic matter to electrical power in the marine domain. - Test and evaluate initial brassboard system.
FY2027 planned work - Perform operationally relevant field testing of selected test materials. - Conduct post-field-testing laboratory analysis to characterize performance for key stakeholder use cases.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects a shift to field testing and post analysis of limited, high priority applications.
FY2026 plans — current year - Initiate studies of interactions with biological systems for demonstrating safety. - Optimize molecules and materials for performance in extreme cold weather. - Scale-up molecules and materials for laboratory scale testing and evaluation.
FY2027 planned work - Down-select technologies for continued development based on test results and demonstrator performance.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects a shift toward infield testing and targeted tech stress testing.
FY2026 plans — current year - Review demonstrator system design(s) and down-select technologies for continued development. - Acquire a greater diversity of microbes as well as real-world samples to test storage and retrieval methods. - Demonstrate ability to store and retrieve multiple microbes without a cold chain for a sustained duration. - Demonstrate that the system can operate in at least one austere condition.
FY2027 planned work - Conduct large-scale validation studies of optimized Cognitive Flexibility and Emotional Regulation interventions across diverse warfighter populations to establish deployment readiness.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects a shift from model optimization to validation studies.
FY2026 plans — current year - Revise the mechanistic models of Cognitive Flexibility and Emotional Regulation to re-test predictive validity and optimize the model's ability to predict a behavioral response. - Assess brain network models in all three risk populations (low risk, at risk, high risk). - Refine and tailor hybrid interventions to maximize synergistic and sustaining mental health benefits for each target population (low risk, at risk, high risk).
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects program completion.
FY2026 plans — current year - Validate that models can predict microbial communities and/or fiber-based approaches after two months. - Identify microbial communities and/or fiber-based approaches that produce and maintain a desired function in the field. - Verify microbial communities and/or fiber-based approaches are either resistant or resilient to multiple perturbations in the field.
FY2026 to FY2027 change The FY 2027 decrease reflects program completion.
FY2026 plans — current year - Demonstrate separation and efficient recovery of at least eight individual REEs with high purity starting from mining partner source material using a biomining approach.