The project has refined a business plan for the Smart Tank and completed a detailed market analysis. Costs, requirements, opportunities and risks have been evaluated and Atout has demonstrated investment readiness and credibility in the sector and is in detailed negotiations with a number of potential investors. We have established partnership and contact with end-users and potential customers. Collaboration commitment from a world-leading tank manufacturer has been obtained, and separate funding from them and UK Space Agency is now helping advance the TRL towards flight readiness. Through the project, Atout has generated substantial customer traction, made contact with large and small potential collaborators and has attracted industrial co-investment.
This SME Instrument project has demonstrated the commercial viability of the smart tank as a product. Cost, price, scaling, and market models for the opportunity have been developed including multiple exploitation routes and a primary commercial entry route. We have elaborated a roadmap to bring the smart tank to flight demonstration, the top-level development plan has been extended into a detailed work-breakdown for the preferred commercial route. Schedule, resources, recruitment and investment are being aligned to ensure capture of the business opportunity.
Work has focussed on two primary areas, economic feasibility and technical feasibility:
Economic Feasibility.
Preliminary discussions with a major European system prime contractor, and a world-leading tank manufacturer explored the interest and potential of the approach. Then with the help of industry consultants and the coaching provided through the SME Instrument funding we arranged a series of confidential requirement specification workshops involving system integrators and supply chain organisations. These workshops were flexible and informal, involving face-to-face meetings in the UK, Germany, Poland and France, as well as telephone and internet-based information gathering and communication. These workshops have been used to derive the product specification, performance requirements, interface considerations, and strong views on design trade offs.
In parallel, an operational consultation was undertaken with a number of satellite operators and users of satellite data, to develop a benefits model of adopting the Smart Tank technology. In particular, the life-extension value for a typical commercial satellite was refined, and further elaborated to include considerations of risk, manoeuvre planning improvements, attitude control enhancements, data handling factors, and so on. This is now a holistic value proposition supported by robust data, strong inputs to the company’s new business plan.
Practical and Technical Feasibility.
A design exercise was undertaken to ensure material and manufacturing compatibility, and compliance with established space standards in Europe. Undertaken as a collaborative arrangement with two leading tank manufacturers, and in consultation with a number of university groups and technology organisations in four countries across the EU we have established a list of substantial technical challenges in materials, systems integration, instrumentation design and manufacturing. Each of these areas forms a coherent part of the road map and plan for further development.
The primary exploitation route is through the coherent business plan for Atout to develop the Smart Tanks for Space concept into large-scale commercial reality. Presentations of the business plan have been made to potential investors and detail discussions are underway with three of these. Atout has also been able to use the technical results to enable a TRL-raising project in collaboration with a major tank manufacturer and a space systems company with significant funding from UK Space Agency. Presentations of the technology have been made to more than 40 potential supply-chain partners and customers.
