Aspen Products Group, Inc. (APG) announced today the award of a U.S Army SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) contract to continue development of a Flameless Personal Water Heater (Hot Cup) that can be used by soldiers in the field to provide heated water for sanitation or a hot cup of coffee or soup. Soldiers deployed in field operations are exposed to harsh environments and hazardous duty, and can rely on few comforts. Even tasks such as hygiene and food preparation can be a challenge. The novel heater being developed by APG uses a catalytic combustion-based immersion heater to safely and efficiently generate heat from military fuels.

The Hot Cup under development produces a half-liter of hot liquid in less than ten minutes, using less fuel that its open flame predecessors. It requires no matches or open flame to start the heating process, nor does it have exposed hot surfaces that can cause burns. It starts and stops automatically at the push of a button, carries enough fuel to make a dozen meals, and is designed to be unaffected by altitude, ambient temperature or inclement weather. The Hot Cup has the potential to be a low-cost solution to meet soldier personal heater needs while reducing the military’s logistic fuel burden.

The objective of the Phase II SBIR program is to develop a prototype field-deployable personal Hot Cup and demonstrate a heating efficiency in excess of 90%, with minimal exhaust emissions making the unit acceptable for use indoors. Six prototype heaters will be developed and delivered to the military in 2010 for independent field evaluation testing.

Aspen Products Group, Inc. is focused on providing high value-added products that will enable the clean and efficient use of fossil fuels in transportation, portable, and stationary applications. APG has conducted a number of material, process, and hardware development projects funded though industrial, Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR), and other Government grants, and has delivered several integrated prototype fuel conversion and purification products to the US Government for evaluation.