Lunar lander Fuel Cell (LFC-ACO)

Under this ACO project, Blue Origin will collaborate with Glenn Research Center (GRC) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) for the advancement of fuel cell electric power system technology applicable to the Blue Moon lunar lander, advancing fuel cell stack TRL and integration towards actual flight hardware. For Blue Moon, this collaboration leverages capabilities and hardware from NASA centers to rapidly develop a preliminary flight capable stack concept for ground testing, leverages existing work (lessons learned, data, tools), and supports mission and architecture studies. This ACO effort looks to advance previous efforts at NASA centers by focusing on a Blue Origin Primary Fuel Cell Power System for Lunar Landers mission/service and our particular operational requirements and specifications for a fuel cell based electric power system. Separtely from this ACO task, Blue Origin will procure and provide developmental fuel cell stack hardware to enable testing under this ACO.

This ACO project advances the aerospace fuel cell technology towards space-flight realization at an integrated system level rather than the component level. Integrating a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell stack into a vehicle architecture clarifies the interface and operational requirements while revealing any required technology development prior to flight.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.