On July 11, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced awards totaling $137 million for small businesses in 30 states. The 120 projects include projects addressing multiple priorities across the Department, such as clean energy, cybersecurity, high-energy physics, and nuclear nonproliferation.
American small business plays a critical role in facilitating the transition from discovery to innovation, helping to create a bridge between the laboratory and the commercial marketplace. DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards strive to transform DOE-supported science and technology breakthroughs into viable products and services. The awards also support the development of specialized technologies and instruments that aid in scientific discovery.
Through the SBIR and STTR programs, the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) supports small business research and development projects that improve energy efficiency, material productivity, and drive industrial decarbonization and competitiveness for American manufacturers.
AMO selected 10 projects—funded with $10.8 million from AMO and $700,000 from other EERE offices—to advance to Phase II of the SBIR/STTR program based on their progress during Phase I and their potential to advance manufacturing technologies and practices from the following topics:
- Advanced Manufacturing: A topic focused on developing several technologies to decarbonize industry including the following subtopics:
- Novel Energy-Efficient Dewatering Methods for Cellulosic Nanomaterials
- Electrochemical Recycling Electronic Constituents of Value
- Atomically Precise Microelectronics for Energy Efficiency
- Novel Manufacturing Methods for Membranes and Desalination System Components
- Affordable Thermal Energy Storage: A joint topic with the Building Technologies Office focused on manufacturing processes for an innovative high temperature thermochemical energy storage technology that supports industrial decarbonization.
- High-Torque Direct-Drive Generators: A joint topic with the Water Power Technologies Office and the Wind Energy Technologies Office to support cost-effective scale-up of offshore wind turbines and marine and water turbines to higher power with more compact size.
- Conductivity enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and Thermal Applications (CABLE): Materials and Applications. A joint topic among AMO and seven other EERE technology offices, along with DOE’s Office of Electricity, to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon grid and support a decarbonized economy through lower cost, lower impact electrification, and energy efficient thermal energy use.
For a full list of AMO-funded and co-funded projects, visit the AMO website.
The SBIR and STTR programs were created by Congress to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies. Information on the DOE SBIR and STTR programs is available on the Office of Science SBIR website.