Aerojet Rocketdyne Rocket Shop turns trash to energy, powering aerospace and defense electronics

SACRAMENTO, Calif., 15 Jan. 2016. Engineers at Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. (NYSE:AJRD) in Sacramento, California, have completed field testing a compact Hybrid Renewable Multi-fuel Power Generator (HR-MPG) that uses surplus materiel to generate electricity for warfighters deployed to forward locations.

The HR-MPG is a self-contained 4 foot by 8 foot towable trailer that includes everything needed to convert common surplus materiel (cardboard, wood, plastic bottles, and food waste) into electricity. The system burns the material and harnesses the heat generated by the combustion to power a Stirling engine that, in turn, produces electricity.

The recent testing demonstrated that the system was capable of generating enough electricity to power an average-size home.

“The HR-MPG will be an invaluable asset to our men and women who are deployed to remote and sometimes hostile locations,” says Tyler Evans, Aerojet Rocketdyne vice president, Rocket Shop Defense Advanced Programs. “Not only does it provide them with easily generated electricity from surplus materiel, it reduces the volume of surplus materiel by a ratio of 30:1, so 300 pounds of materiel turns into just 10 pounds of ash. This keeps our warfighters out of harm’s way by reducing the need to have convoys driving surplus materiel back from forward operating bases where they could be vulnerable to attack.”

The HR-MPG was developed within Aerojet Rocketdyne’s innovation arm known as the “Rocket Shop” Defense Advanced Programs. Rocket Shop was specifically designed and staffed to identify unique defense customer solutions and rapidly mature those products from concept to demonstration. The group employs a specialized workforce and state-of-the-art processes, such as rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing (3D printing), to quickly and affordably develop new products focused on increasing national security.

The work, which was funded by the Office of Naval Research, is being done for the Navy Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is an aerospace and defense technology company that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets.