S&T Announces Winner in the $250K Escape Respirator Challenge

Washington D.C. – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) today announced the grand prize winner of the Escape Respirator Prize Challenge. Launched in December 2018, the challenge invited the innovation community to develop a compact, discreetly-carried escape respirator that can be used quickly for safe egress from smoke-filled, oxygen-deficient, and chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) environments. 

Elmridge Protection Products, LLC, of Boca Raton, Florida, will receive $100,000 for its iEvac E700 Mini-ReBreather concept. The concept involves delivery of a controlled flow of oxygen from a generator to a sealed hood with an oral-nasal mask and integrated carbon dioxide scrubber. 

“This competition presented a unique challenge to the innovation community to develop an escape respirator with specific design requirements,” said Dr. Donald Bansleben, S&T Program Manager. “Throughout the Challenge we’ve seen remarkable work from innovators to develop concepts for an escape hood that shows great promise.”

From the initial submissions, three finalists were selected and each received $50,000 to develop prototypes that were demonstrated to an interagency panel of judges in January. The judges determined Elmridge Protection Products as the winner. 

“In today’s environment of rapidly-changing technology, S&T is proactively looking for emerging technology to respond to homeland security needs,” said Kathleen Kenyon, DHS Prize Competition Lead. “Prize competitions spark the innovation community to think about homeland security as another market. We thank Elmridge Protection Products for their work throughout this challenge and look forward to seeing their technology as it evolves.”

Learn more about the Escape Respirator Challenge and DHS S&T prize competitions. 

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