Laguna Industry Day

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office is hosting a virtual Industry Day on December 9, 2026, to support the Laguna program. This initiative aims to develop integrated manufacturing approaches that convert abundant domestic feedstocks, such as sugars, ethylene, and BTX, into application-ready specialty chemical formulations. The primary objective is to reduce reliance on vulnerable foreign supply chains by minimizing intermediate processing steps and separations. The program is anticipated to be a 36-month effort divided into two technical areas: one focused on making and formulating defense-relevant specialty products from U.S. raw materials, and another focused on developing predictive models to optimize the relationship between feedstocks, synthesis, and final product performance. This specific notice, DARPA-SN-27-18, is issued for information and program planning purposes and does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals. Interested parties must register for the Industry Day by December 2, 2026. The program requires that resulting products meet or exceed the performance requirements of current military materials and will involve deliverables such as technoeconomic analysis, life cycle assessments, and commercialization strategy plans. Technical and administrative inquiries are directed to Dr. William Mounfield at [email hidden].