ZeroAlpha Solutions develops energy data logger for dismounted soldiers

The ZeroAlpha dismounted energy data logger displayed at the Future Soldier Technology conference in London in March 2025. (Giles Ebbutt)

UK dismounted soldier power and energy specialist ZeroAlpha Solutions has developed a body-worn energy consumption data logger to help better understand the energy requirements of the dismounted soldier's equipment, the company revealed at SAE Media's Future Soldier Technology conference in London in March.

Speaking at the conference, Stewart Burton, managing director of ZeroAlpha, said that on the modern battlefield energy needs to be treated as a consumable supply in the same way as rations, ammunition, and food, and its use needs to be planned and tracked in the same way.

He observed that power is generated but energy is consumed, and it is consumption that is the challenge, not generation. “You need to know what your consumption is so you know what to generate against,” he added. Burton noted that there has been a dramatic change in the profile of dismounted energy usage in the last decade, with every individual now carrying and using devices that require energy. “What was once a platoon challenge is now an on-the-man challenge,” he added.

However, Burton said there was very little data available on the overall energy requirements for specific dismounted roles and equipment profiles over a given time in a given environment. He added that he had never seen an equipment requirement stating an energy usage limit based on this sort of data.

The company's new data logger is designed to be integrated into the dismounted soldier's assembly and record energy consumption. It is interoperable with standard soldier systems, has internal memory storage, and an integrated GPS receiver. Data can be extracted via USB and is exported as a comma-separated value (CSV) file.