Mobile Oxygen & Power Delivery Solution

Oxygen is a life-saving medicine that is important in resuscitation, medical, surgical, and obstetric care. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a severe lack of oxygen, resulting in higher rates of morbidity and mortality among pregnant women, infants and children.  Long transportation distances impact the ease of delivery to rural locations and few production facilities make oxygen costly and scarce.   

To address this problem, Steelhead Composites (Steelhead) has developed a lightweight mobile trailer system, consisting of compressed medical-grade oxygen tanks and certified, lightweight high-pressure hydrogen cylinders.  This easily transportable system represents a compelling solution to provide continuous oxygen and power, via fuel cell technology, to hospitals and health clinics in any location.  

This innovation will allow for equitable, affordable and sustainable healthcare to protect the most at-risk and remote populations.  Steelhead’s goal is to save lives by providing this essential life-saving technology to medical facilities across the globe. 

The lack of oxygen supply and electricity in LMICs contribute significantly to increased mortality rates and adverse maternal and child health.  Access to medical oxygen is erratic and expensive, particularly in rural clinics and hospitals.  Facilities that have oxygen available frequently exhaust their supply due to lack of funds and difficulty transporting oxygen from the distributor. Also problematic, oxygen concentrators need a constant supply of power and are difficult to maintain; causing many patients to not receive the oxygen they need.  Scaling up access to sustainable oxygen delivery and power will save hundreds of thousands of lives each year.

Globally, more than a quarter of health facilities lack proper access to electricity.  Pregnant women, infants and children who live in rural areas do not have access to quality health care services which severely compromise their well-being.  Reliable electricity is pivotal to enable basic lighting, mobile phone charging for communications, access to clean water via water pumps and to power medical and diagnostic equipment. In addition, electricity enables refrigeration for vaccines, blood and medication, and allows basic procedures to be carried out during the day and after sunset.

Steelhead Composites is a global leader in product development and manufacture of lightweight, composite storage vessels that serve nearly every market.  A trailer of Steelhead’s large, lightweight, robust tanks can provide medical oxygen for treatment and power.  This concept uses the mature electrolysis technology.  When electrical current is introduced to water it results in H2O becoming oxygen (O2) and hydrogen (H2). Electrolyzers break apart the water molecules and the generation of these gasses occur.  This process requires a source of power which can be obtained through sources of renewable energy such as solar or wind power.  

Once hydrogen and oxygen gases are generated, each will be compressed using standard mechanical or electrochemical compression to fill Steelhead vessels for immediate use. The mobile unit is comprised of an assembly of 270L (345 bar) storage vessels- as a compelling solution to provide oxygen and power to save lives.  Continuous oxygen and power are obtained via a drop and swap method, where one unit is deployed while the other is refilled. This solution addresses the delivery of a continuous medical-grade oxygen supply and zero-emission power to any health facility including rural, off grid, and temporary sites.

Oxygen therapy is crucial for treating many acute medical conditions, particularly among sick infants and children.  Maternal, infant and child mortality rates remain unacceptably high in LMICs. One significant cause of these deaths is the lack of medical equipment and technology to support even the most basic interventions for pregnant women and their newborns, especially in remote areas where health care workers lack essential medical resources.

Consistent delivery of oxygen and power should be available to all health facilities, regardless of location.  Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated the need for oxygen globally, but there has always been an underlying lack of oxygen availability to LMICs. This has created a serious barrier to improving health outcomes for everyone, especially pregnant women, newborns and children.

Pneumonia remains the leading cause of child mortality worldwide and is responsible for an estimated 15% of all deaths of children under age five.  Pneumonia, preterm birth complications, and intrapartum-related complications collectively contribute to 45% of global under-five mortality, with the vast majority of these deaths occurring in areas with limited access to life-saving treatment. Studies in low-resource settings have shown that improved oxygen systems can reduce inpatient deaths from pneumonia by up to 35%.

Access to oxygen is the determining factor between of life and death in LMICs. Scaling up access to oxygen is one of the most effective and critical actions for improving health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, infants and children. 

The Mobile Oxygen and Power Delivery Solution addresses the problem by delivering a sustainable and continuous source of medical oxygen and power to any location. Along with addressing needs of vulnerable populations such as newborns, children, and pregnant women- its implementation will strengthen healthcare systems and improve rapid response allowing for day-to-day treatment to save lives.

Electrolysis has been used as a source of continuous oxygen in space and at sea, and hydrogen for fuel and power supplies. Our solution uses electrolysis to produce and capture both oxygen and hydrogen for use in healthcare settings. This concept has never been used in healthcare, and we have no competitors.  Solar power, another source of renewable energy, has been slowly introduced to healthcare facilities in LMICs for power, but solar does not have the ability to fill oxygen tanks for reliable use.  Our solution does both.  

The major benefits for this Steelhead-developed technology is the availability to rapidly deploy the solution and the mobility and ruggedness to reach and perform in rural areas in all populated climatic zones.  This represents an integral and missing set of capabilities for numerous rural health clinics in LMICs globally.  In addition, it can provide dual track functions during times of outbreak or pandemic.  This solution can immediately address COVID-19 patient needs and address non-pandemic related maladies that are causing morbidity and mortality among the most vulnerable populations.

Electrolysis is a promising solution for oxygen and hydrogen production and delivery.  Electrolysis is the process of using electricity to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. This reaction takes place in a unit called an electrolyzer. Splitting the oxygen and hydrogen in water is accomplished using a process called “water electrolysis" in which both the oxygen and hydrogen molecules separate into individual gasses via separate “evolution reactions." Each evolution reaction is induced by an electrode in the presence of a catalyst.

Once oxygen and hydrogen gases are generated, each will be compressed using standard mechanical or electrochemical compression to fill Steelhead vessels. Each compression methodology is well-established and commercial methodologies will be used. Steelhead high-pressure storage vessels are manufactured, beginning with a seamless aluminum tube. We spin form this into seamless liners and wrap each with carbon fiber to produce storage vessels that are safe, strong and lightweight. We highlight a drop and swap capability centered on the Steelhead combined power and oxygen trailer product.

The 12-vessel module will be trailer mounted and manifolded, including rapid and safe connections for refill and reuse. The trailer has 3 hydrogen tanks (about 19kg) providing safe, stored, clean and silent usable power for health facilities. The 9 oxygen cylinders would provide the health facility approximately 1 million liters of compressed oxygen. 

Electrolysis is a well-established technology, developed in the late 18th century.  Today, it is considered as a key process used for the production of high-purity hydrogen from water and renewable energy sources.  While electrolysis produces two gases, it is the hydrogen that often takes the spotlight for electrolysis applications- unless you are in space or at sea.  

NASA has long been using water electrolysis as the primary source of oxygen production and storage at the International Space Station (ISS).  Electricity from the ISS solar panels are used to split water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.  Hydrogen produced by electrolysis is essential for space missions because it is the main fuel used for propulsion of spacecrafts during launch and it can also be used for orbit propulsion and deorbiting at the end of the operative life of the spacecraft. The oxygen is captured and used for oxygen life support in manned missions, like in the ISS.

Modern submarines use seawater electrolysis to create the components for breathable air.  During the process, oxygen is collected and continuously pumped throughout the submarine's ventilation system and into the various inhabited chambers, giving them the ability to stay below the waterline for up to six months without resurfacing. Typical vessels would have to come up for air every seven days, but with the innovative scientific method of extracting oxygen from the seawater that surrounds them, submarines can stay much longer.  To date, the hydrogen produced at sea is not used for a fuel source.  

Steelhead's Mobile Oxygen and Power Delivery Solution will improve maternal, infant and child morbidity and mortality rates.  Oxygen is an essential medical therapy that is important in resuscitation, surgeries, and obstetric care.  Regardless of the population served, providing a sustainable and continuous source of medical-grade oxygen will result in less lives lost from lack of oxygen availability, while the power gained will offer immediate improvements such as refrigeration for vaccines and medicines, and back-up power. 

We are in the development stage and require funding for our prototype. We have created a Theory of Change Framework- this plan is in use to foster channels for both internal and external communication among our team and with key stakeholders.  As we continue to make new partners and research needs of different regions, we will revise our initial assumptions based on evidence and experiences with new partners.  The most critical piece to our model is our relationships with stakeholders and partners to facilitate the implementation of this solution and strengthen the engagement of multi-level governmental and health systems.  We are aware of the importance of community support and are working closely with our partners to make sure we have support from every level.

As we obtain new partnerships, we must conducts needs assessments to identify where to focus our solution integration.  Activities will commence to determine gaps and gain commitments from governments on a national, regional, district and community level (which most partners have already established).  Short-term outcomes include increased community awareness, oxygen treatment to patients and power supply to rural clinics.  Medium-term outcomes include community member buy-in and education to increase the number of people served.  Long-term outcomes address access to basic healthcare expanded, increased health care utilization, and gaps narrowed.  External factors will always be a challenge, particularly with potential political and economic instability- strong partnerships are essential to our success.  Our ultimate impact will be reducing morbidity and unnecessary deaths, expanding access of two essential medical supplies to rural areas, and improving the health outcomes for pregnant women, infants and children in rural LMICs. 

Our solution is not yet serving the public.  We are still in the funding stages of prototype development.  

Each Steelhead 270 liter vessel holds 94 Kiloliters of compressed oxygen. The volume of oxygen in Steelhead’s tanks is 12x the largest commercially common oxygen “K” bottles, but weighs less than ¼ of 12 K bottles. 

Compressed hydrogen can be regulated down to 7 bar and delivered to a PEM fuel cell and used to provide primary or back-up power. Each Steelhead, 270 L vessel holds 6.2 kg of hydrogen, representative of 204 kWh. At a PEM efficiency of ~ 65%, each Steelhead hydrogen vessel produces ~ 133 kWh.

Steelhead is dedicated to save lives through the delivery of essential oxygen and power.  Our goal is to launch our life-saving technology to address maternal, infant and child health issues in LMICs.  The long term goal is for our innovation to be available for any country, regardless of location.  This solution is unique in that it can also provide great use in a pandemic situation where oxygen and/or power is in short supply.  

Pandemics such as COVID-19 present bigger issues in counties with weak medical and health infrastructure.  Governments must engage in a dual track: addressing the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing to provide essential health services for co-morbidities such as TB, HIV/AIDS, un-medicated, un-controlled, non-communicable diseases and common infections such as cholera, malaria, and measles. COVID-19 infections on top of these pre-exisiting conditions, will prove a deadly combination.  Providing a delivery system for sustainable continuous oxygen and power will immediately address the needs for COVID patients, while addressing non-pandemic related maladies that are causing morbidity and mortality among vulnerable populations.  

Much of our success has to do with initial funding.  We have support from our partners and will continue finding support for development and testing for deployment.  

The financial barrier is our current setback.  We can continue to develop this solution slowly, but without proper funding, the impact of this solution will be delayed.  

While all components are off-the-shelf ready,  an additional hurdle will be permits will be required.  Each country has its own set of regulations, which could cause delays. 

Humanitarian efforts is a new field for Steelhead, but we are experts in compressed gas storage and transport- which is exactly what is needed.   With the increased emphasis on hydrogen as an energy carrier for decarbonization via zero-emission vehicles or power generation, Steelhead has been active in providing storage solutions. Storing the smallest element under great pressure is not a trivial task. Steelhead has a legacy in manufacturing and testing safe, lightweight, reliable storage vessels.  Steelhead is able to quickly take this technology and translate it into storing large amounts of compressed medical oxygen to benefit maternal and infant health, along with any medical condition requiring oxygen.  

Steelhead is dedicated to this project, and will continue to work with our partners and network to make this solution come to fruition.  We have almost a decade of experience with obtaining permits, and will not let that be a barrier, but one we have experience with and can account for. 

Three full-time staff (with other project responsibilities) and one .75FTE contractor fully dedicated to this solution.

With 60 years of combined composites, manufacturing and pressure vessel experience and over 120 customers in 26 countries using our products, in some of the most demanding environments, Steelhead has the staff and expertise to bring this innovation to the market. We are experts with generating, compressing, storing and safely transporting gasses.

Steelhead is a U.S. based (Golden, CO) small business, we combine advanced materials processing with advanced manufacturing.  We are dedicated to the design, manufacture and evaluation of lightweight storage vessels for use in mass-sensitive energy and fuel storage applications.  Our competencies include lightweight bladder, diaphragm and piston accumulators; gas storage and transport; and other composite structures.  We also offer design and analysis services, metal spin forming, plastic molding, filament winding, prototyping and testing/evaluation.  

Our intellectual property and engineering know-how in composites enable us to develop and certify products specific to customer needs.  Steelhead delivers reliable, safe and custom vessels within a set, and often short, timeframe by relying on our in-house experts and dedication to manufacturing excellence.  This allows Steelhead to bypass the traditional vendor, customer relationship via alignment as a strategic partner and active participation in the development and launch of new products.  The Steelhead manufacturing capability was purposefully designed to be efficiently reproduced at other geographic locations.  This affords our customers with the best combination of (near) vertical integration, with our merger or acquisition.

We are currently partnering with the Instituto de Medicina Tropical at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Peru.  Peru's rural population has been especially vulnerable to COVID-19 due to lack of oxygen availability to remote locations.  This partnership has been essential in assisting Steelhead in ensuring our solution will reach its potential impact and to help access the rural communities with the greatest need of oxygen and power in outbreak and pandemic emergency situations.  

In addition to commercial customers, Steelhead partners with NASA on next generation aerospace tanks, the US Navy on new metal forming techniques and has past and ongoing projects with national labs and universities around the United States.  As a small manufacturing company, we are well suited to rapidly prototype and test novel solutions.

Steelhead is in the business of doing well while doing good. Our products are generally used to decarbonize the earth through high-pressure hydrogen storage for zero-emission energy. We design, engineer and manufacture disruptive products, then sell them to the market. The company had revenues in Q1 almost as great as 2019 (~$1M). We’ve attracted customers from around the world that appreciate our manufacturing capabilities and nimbleness. Steelhead uses advanced materials and a fully digital shop floor to address customers who need either lighter weight or higher strength products– or both.

Steelhead is actively raising investment capital and is on the brink of profitability. We expect to be break even in 4Q2020. The company will need additional resources to take the proposed solution to the market and then require that the units are purchased after that point.

MIT Solve gives Steelhead an excellent opportunity to expand our network and gain advice and mentorship through your partners.  Learning from other tech-based health solutions and the creators behind the work will open doors for many future opportunities with each other as we all try to seek support for our health-centered solutions.

Steelhead is dedicated to the design, manufacturing and testing of specialty high-pressure, lightweight composite pressure vessels used for weight-sensitive energy and fuel storage applications. Our specialties include lightweight bladder, diaphragm and piston accumulators, hydrogen storage vessels for fuel cells, gas storage and transport, and other composite structures. We also offer a full array of technical services in vessel design, metal spin forming, filament winding, prototyping and testing of high-pressure vessels. 

The medical industry is new to Steelhead and we added a new expert by hiring a Director of Health and Medical Affairs.  We have been leading up to this humanitarian innovation, and are confident we can provide this essential and sustainable medical equipment to frontline healthcare providers to strengthen health infrastructures for saving lives now and for addressing long-term capacity. We welcome any opportunity to partner, learn from and collaborate with others sharing the same mission.

Because we are new to the field of medical supplies and humanitarian efforts, we will benefit from working with any established organizations providing technology and/or equipment to health facilities in LMICs.  This is a long road, but we are certain our innovation can move mountains and provide life-saving care to pregnant women, infants and children who will continue to suffer otherwise.   

Steelhead's innovation will strengthen any healthcare infrastructure by providing this life-saving medicine to pregnant women, infant and children.  Our technology gives rural communities the supplies needed to treat women and children with a sustainable oxygen supply, and offer them resources that are not available without reliable power.  

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the lack of reliable power has prevented millions of people in remote and rural communities from accessing the healthcare they need.  In addition, oxygen accessibility is a challenge for difficult to reach healthcare settings, and often unavailable in smaller rural clinics and district health centers.  Unreliable power and lack of oxygen are major barriers in providing comprehensive and quality medical care. 

Steelhead is utilizing technologies to ensure medical-grade oxygen and power reach remote and under-served communities to strengthen healthcare systems.  Different challenges call for different innovation.  In order to meet the demand for oxygen and electricity in resource-limited settings, Steelhead’s delivery system can be implemented in any location to address limited access, supply and reliability of these two life-saving resources.  The Mobile Oxygen and Power Solution is comprised of commercially available technology configured in a trailer delivery system which can be easily filled, transported and implemented to any health facility to supply a sustainable and continuous source of oxygen and stable, quiet, zero-emission power. 

The use of oxygen for medical treatment is over 100 years old.  Oxygen therapy is used in the treatment of a wide array of diseases ranging from pneumonia and sepsis to severe malaria.  The need for oxygen is especially acute among children.  In 2018, World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 6.2 million children and adolescents under the age of 15 died from mostly preventable causes.  Of these deaths, 5.3 million occurred in the first 5 year, with almost half in the first month of life.   One in five neonates requires oxygen to survive their first days of life.  The leading causes of death in children under-5 years are pneumonia, diarrhea, preterm complications, birth asphyxia, congenital anomalies and malaria- nearly half of these deaths are in newborns. Oxygen therapy is used not only for treatment of pneumonia and other primary lung diseases, but many other conditions that result in hypoxemia, as well as surgical care and anesthesia. 

Access to reliable power in health facilities is an important enabler of quality, essential health services for women, children and families.  It is the backbone of any modern economy and a common challenge for healthcare centers located across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.  

A lack of electricity imposes significant constraints on quality of life, and healthcare resources available and can mean the difference between life and death.  Today, 1.3 billion people live without electricity, and 50% of them are found in sub-Saharan Africa.  Fewer than one-third of all health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have access to dependable electricity.  While each country has their own specific challenges, one basic shared difficulty is limited access to electricity.  This energy crisis prevents access to healthcare for millions of people around the world.  When health facilities have sufficient and reliable power, women can give birth at night in safely lit rooms, medical equipment can be powered and better sterilized, and clinics can store vaccines for newborns, children and adults.  Health clinics, maternity wards, medical warehouses, and laboratories rely on electricity to maintain the cold chain for vaccines and medicines, power the lights in the operating room and maternity ward, operate life-saving medical devices and utilize IT systems for data collection and stock management. 

Steelhead Composites is a global leader in the design and manufacture of lightweight storage vessels and structures for zero-emissions energy, aerospace launch and propulsion, fluid power and other applications requiring reliable, robust, lightweight and affordable solutions.  Providing essential and sustainable medical equipment to frontline healthcare providers will strengthen health infrastructure for long-term capacity, saving lives now and in the future.  With 60 years of combined composites, manufacturing and pressure vessel experience and over 120 customers, in 26 countries in some of the most demanding environments, Steelhead has the staff and expertise to bring this innovation to the market.