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Two very different technologies headline the October 14, 2026 edition of MIT Technology Review’s The Download: a $73 million DARPA program to make dried blood products practical in the field, and WeLion New Energy’s liquid-solid hybrid batteries, including a 2023 pack for Nio that reportedly delivered more than 1,000 kilometers of driving range. One project must prove biological safety and transfusion performance; the other must make energy-dense cells affordable, durable and scalable.
Why the military wants blood that can last longer
Donated blood is perishable, difficult to keep at the right conditions and frequently scarce where combat casualties occur. The logistics risk became stark in February 2007, when a US military helicopter carrying blood to a field hospital in Iraq was shot down. All seven crew members died, and the incident illustrates how moving conventional blood supplies can endanger crews while still failing to guarantee that usable products reach patients.
The problem is not simply transportation. Blood components have limited shelf lives, so military planners must predict demand, maintain storage infrastructure and move supplies quickly between bases and frontline medical units. A product that could remain stable for long periods would give field hospitals more flexibility and reduce dependence on a fragile, tightly timed supply chain.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsHow DARPA’s dried-blood project is supposed to work
Drying the components instead of carrying ordinary bags
DARPA is funding a $73 million effort, reported in 2026, to create shelf-stable versions of plasma, platelets and red blood cells. The central concept is to dry those products so they can be stored for extended periods and deployed rapidly when needed. Rather than treating “fake blood” as a single synthetic liquid, the program is primarily a storage and logistics project involving the separate components used in transfusion medicine.
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The battlefield goal
DARPA’s stated objective is to have bags of dried blood products available in the field by 2029. If achieved, medics could hold supplies closer to likely casualty locations and reconstitute or otherwise prepare them for use when required. The 2029 date is a development target, not a guarantee that a fully approved replacement for donated blood will be available everywhere.
What remains unproven
The newsletter stresses that safety and effectiveness are still major open questions. Any dried product would have to preserve the required biological function, remain safe after storage and preparation, and perform reliably in emergency transfusions. The available reporting does not establish that the program has solved those challenges or that the products are ready for routine civilian or military use.
What “fake blood” would be used for
In this context, fake blood means manufactured or specially processed blood products intended to supplement or replace fragile supplies in emergencies. The practical use is rapid access to plasma, platelets and red blood cells when donated units are unavailable, too far away or no longer usable. The value proposition is availability and deployability: a dried, shelf-stable package could be positioned in advance rather than flown in after a crisis begins.
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That does not make it a universal substitute for every transfusion. The DARPA effort must demonstrate that each product is safe and effective for its intended medical use, and the reporting does not provide a final formulation, storage duration or clinical-performance result.
What semi-solid-state batteries are
A liquid-solid hybrid cell
WeLion New Energy is developing semi-solid-state cells described as liquid-solid hybrids. They are designed for electric cars, boats and drones, combining characteristics of conventional liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion batteries with a more solid battery architecture. The company presents the approach as a way to improve safety and increase energy density compared with conventional lithium-ion technology.
Those are engineering goals rather than universal guarantees. The performance of a semi-solid cell depends on its design, manufacturing quality and operating conditions. “Semi-solid-state” also does not mean the battery has eliminated every liquid component; WeLion’s technology is specifically characterized as a hybrid.
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The reported WeLion-Nio range
In 2023, WeLion released a battery pack with electric-vehicle maker Nio that the newsletter says offered more than 1,000 kilometers of range. That figure is a reported specification for that pack, not a result that every vehicle using WeLion cells will achieve. The report does not state the test cycle, vehicle configuration, weather, speed or other conditions behind the number.
Why commercialization is difficult
WeLion is pursuing still higher energy density, but the same report identifies production scale and cost as substantial challenges. A battery can be technically impressive and still struggle in the market if factories cannot produce it consistently, if yields are low, or if the resulting pack costs too much for vehicle manufacturers and buyers. Durability, reliability and supply-chain execution also matter when cells move from demonstrations or limited releases into mass-market vehicles, boats and drones.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the two technologies compare
| Dimension | Dried blood products | WeLion semi-solid batteries |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Battlefield transfusion logistics | Propulsion for electric cars, boats and drones |
| Core idea | Dry plasma, platelets and red blood cells for longer storage and rapid deployment | Use liquid-solid hybrid cells to seek higher safety and energy density |
| Evidence highlighted | $73 million DARPA effort reported in 2026 | 2023 Nio-associated pack reported at more than 1,000 kilometers |
| Readiness described | Field deployment targeted for 2029 | A commercial battery pack has been released, while broader scaling remains difficult |
| Main unresolved issue | Safety and effectiveness in real transfusion use | Manufacturing scale and cost, alongside the practical demands of reliable production |
What to watch next
- For the DARPA program: evidence that dried components retain the necessary biological performance, can be stored and prepared safely, and meet the 2029 field objective.
- For WeLion: proof that semi-solid cells can be manufactured at larger volumes and competitive cost without losing the safety, energy-density and range advantages claimed for the technology.
- For readers: distinguish a target or reported pack specification from broad availability. The blood project is still trying to validate emergency medical performance; the battery effort is trying to turn a demonstrated product into an economical, scalable platform.
These stories use “future technology” in different senses. DARPA is attempting to change when and where blood can be stored before an emergency, while WeLion is attempting to pack more usable energy into vehicles and drones. Their next tests are therefore different: clinical and operational validation for dried blood, and industrial manufacturing and cost discipline for semi-solid batteries.
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