HTMDEC — High-Throughput Materials Discovery for Extreme Conditions

HTMDEC Rolling BAA White Papers

Supports high-throughput materials discovery under Army priorities through focused research proposals.

The High-Throughput Materials Discovery for Extreme Conditions (HTMDEC) program is a research initiative administered by the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate (WMRD). HTMDEC accepts external investigator proposals through the ARL Broad Agency Announcement (BAA W911NF-23-S-0001) white-paper process directed specifically to HTMDEC Technical Points of Contact; it is not a standalone solicitation. The program targets materials research applicable to three categories of extreme military conditions: high-acceleration environments produced by gun launch, high-temperature ablation encountered during hypersonic flight, and high-velocity impact associated with terminal ballistics. The program is active as of FY2026.

Four research thrusts define the HTMDEC scope: data-driven material design; high-throughput synthesis and processing of candidate materials; high-throughput characterization; and machine-learning-augmented physics-based modeling. Eligible organizations follow the same ARL BAA eligibility rules — universities, for-profit businesses of all sizes, nonprofits, and government research organizations can all participate. Award instruments are cooperative agreements or grants depending on government involvement. Award amounts and performance periods are not published on the public program page; those details are contained in the HTMDEC program description PDF available through the ARL BAA portal.

Proposers should identify the HTMDEC-specific TPOC within the WMRD when routing their white paper through the three-stage ARL BAA process: preliminary inquiry, white paper submission, and full proposal only upon invitation. The program is designed to leverage ARL laboratory infrastructure as a partner resource, meaning successful collaborators typically gain access to ARL's high-throughput synthesis and characterization facilities in addition to funding.