UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) announced on 15 October 2026 that it had launched the Tactical Power Challenge on behalf of the British Army, with support from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and in partnership with Australia's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA). The challenge seeks technologies to improve the generation, storage, distribution and management of electrical power for deployed forces, including advanced energy storage, rapid charging and novel power generation.

The funded Innovative Tactical Power Solutions competition offers £2.45 million (ex-VAT) for technologies at Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 6, with project activity expected to conclude by March 2028. A separate non-funded Immediate Power activity seeks technologies at TRL 6 or above, and selected innovators may be invited to future Army trials within the UK. The Stage 1 submission deadline was 12 noon GMT on 10 November 2026, with Stage 2 by invitation only.

John Cunningham, Director Innovation responsible for UKDI, said reliable, deployable power is fundamental to operational advantage. The Army maintains a requirement for more than 4,000 Lightweight Field Generators, and successful technologies may support future capability acquisition. Submissions may be shared with the Australian Department of Defence, and funded project outputs may also be shared with Australian and United States defence partners under information-sharing arrangements.