Last week, a contract was signed between the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MOD) and Solidflow (spin-off of ESA BIC Noordwijk alumnus HDES) to undertake a new development project. The company’s oxygen cool gas generator design has previously received accolades from the ESA Technology Broker NL when it was selected as an award-winning project and was the focus of a successful business support case. In summer 2024, the Solidflow team held initial meetings with the MOD for an application of the cool gas generators to be used in emergency situations in the field. The contract signing now marks the official start of prototype development.
The following is a re-post of a news release from Solidflow
Colonel Toon Kleinhout (staff physician of the Royal Netherlands Army) and Berry Sanders (general manager of Solidflow) signed the contract for the development of a new, innovative oxygen supply for wounded soldiers during a ceremony on 3 December 2024 at SBIC Noordwijk. The contract falls within the remit of the MOD’s National Technology Programme and covers the development of a demonstration model that can be tested in the field.
Novel oxygen supply in the field
Military personnel who are wounded on the front line must be treated as quickly as possible to increase their chances of survival, for which oxygen is essential. Due to the explosion hazard, pressurised oxygen bottles are too dangerous to be used in the field and so oxygen can only be administered behind the front line or in the Boxer armoured ambulance.
In addition, the Dutch MOD wants to reduce the logistics footprint of oxygen supplies as much as possible. It is important to ensure the maximum chances of survival for the MOD personnel and that is why contact was made with Solidflow, as the company has an innovative solution for this.
Solidflow’s solution powered by space tech
Solidflow develops and builds cool gas generators that produce a pure gas at ambient temperature from a solid propellant. The technology is derived from solid propellant rocket motors for space applications. Discover more about the technology in this video available via the ESA Technology Broker NL website.
This unique type of oxygen cool gas generator has many benefits:
- It produces pure oxygen
- It cannot leak
- It is not pressurised
- It requires no maintenance
- It has a long shelf life (10+ years) under difficult conditions and in harsh environments.
These generators are therefore ideal for providing oxygen to wounded soldiers on the front line.
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New MOD-tailored oxygen generator system
Operational concepts for an oxygen generator system have been developed by Solidflow, together with the Innovation Department of the Royal Netherlands Army. Preliminary designs of the system have been made based on the needs of Dutch MOD and the project structure and approach have been set up, based on these designs.
The collaboration between the defence sector and the space tech industry is an important part of the project in order to achieve a “tailor-made product” for Dutch soldiers.
Background to the technology
The cool gas generator is a gas storage technology that was originally developed by TNO (the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) and, in 2011, was spun out to innovative startups for further development.
The generator consists of a casing with a solid block inside that can be decomposed into gas upon activation of a small igniter. When activated, gas is released which can be used for propulsion and inflation of space structures, as well as for the manoeuvring of small satellites, The technology can now also be used for terrestrial applications.
The technology is derived from solid propellant rocket motors for space applications
Over the years, the team behind Solidflow has improved the technology, supported by subsidies and financing from the Province of South Holland, Netherlands Space Office, European Space Agency (ESA) and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Solidflow has its headquarters at the SBIC space business hub in Noordwijk, which is where parent company HDES has been located ever since it joined the ESA BIC Noordwijk incubation programme in 2019.
Next, Solidflow aims to certify the oxygen cool gas generator and there are plans to start production in a new facility that is expected to be constructed on the NL Space Campus.
The news item was initially shared by Solidflow on LinkedIn
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About: Solidflow is based in Noordwijk and develops, builds and markets cool gas generators. The company was founded in September 2023 and is a spin-off of HDES Service & Engineering. Solidflow is active in high-end markets, such as aerospace, defence and safety systems. Its product portfolio include carbon dioxide and oxygen generators and new generators are in development. solidflow.nl
