170 Grants Will Support Innovation and Job Creation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the award of 170 grants totaling $37 million to 139 small businesses in 32 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for Phase I research and development (R&D). 

The Phase I grants will allow small businesses to research technical feasibility of new innovations that advance the mission of DOE’s Office of Science. Phase I grants are 6-12 months in duration with a median award amount of $200,000. Successful Phase I grantees will be eligible to apply for Phase II awards in fiscal year 2021 that will allow development of novel prototypes or processes to validate the Phase I research findings. Phase II grants will have a median award amount of $1,100,000 and a duration up to 2 years.       

Selected grants are highlighted below, listed under each of the R&D programs that provided funding for the projects:

  • Office of Advanced Scientific Computing:
    • Increased Reliability for Near-Term Quantum Computers via Low-Level Control
    • Real Time Neuromorphic Cyber-Agents
    • Quantum All-Optical Transponder
  • Office of Basic Energy Sciences:
    • Tubular, Proton-conducting, Ceramic Reversible Fuel Cell for High-Performance Energy Storage
    • A New High Flux with High Selectivity Membrane for Low Cost CO2 Capture
    • Novel Large Area detectors for High Spatial Resolution Neutron Imaging
    • Composite Carbon Anode for Selective Metals Removal from Aqueous Waste Streams
  • Office of Biological and Environmental Research:
    • Low Power Instrumentation for Measurement of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Terrestrial-Aquatic Interfaces
    • An Airborne, Miniaturized Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter
    • Toward Rapid and Accessible DNA Synthesis for Synthetic Biology via Beam Pen Lithography
  • Office of Nuclear Physics:
    • Hafnium-based Superconducting Tunnel Junction Radiation Detectors for a Sterile Neutrino Search
    • Data Management for High Speed, Distributed Data Acquisition
    • Development of Ultra Low Radioactivity Cables and Circuits

Small businesses play a major role in spurring innovation and creating jobs in the U.S. economy. The SBIR and STTR programs were created by Congress to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies. Additional information on DOE’s SBIR and STTR programs is available at the SBIR/STTR Programs Office webpage: https://science.osti.gov/sbir.

More information about the projects announced today is available at the following link: https://science.osti.gov/sbir/Awards.

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