As part the Energy Department's (DOE) recent announcement of project selections for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research program, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) announced 11  projects will receive Phase II (9 SBIR and 2 STTR) funding, totaling approximately $11 million. Small businesses that demonstrated technical feasibility for innovations during the first phase (Phase I) of their research were required to compete for Phase II funding to build prototypes or processes development. These 11 projects have been awarded Phase II funding.

Four EERE technology offices, Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), Building Technologies Office (BTO), and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO), have selected projects under 9 subtopics. From 9 different states across the country, here is a sample of the 11 projects awarded Phase II funding:  

  • Tiptek, LLC of West Chester, PA is working on measurement tools to verify atomic location to create a new class of materials that enable high performance manufacturing. (AMO)
  • Dioxide Materials of Boca Raton, FL is working on a hybrid chemical and biological process to create fuels and high value chemicals from carbon dioxide. (BETO)
  • Treau, Inc. of San Francisco, CA is working on a technology to separate hot humid air from cold dry air, enabling more energy efficient and lower cost heating and cooling, accounting for 50 percent of energy use in buildings (BTO)
  • NuMat Technologies of Skokie, IL is working on techniques to increase the amount of hydrogen that can be stored in new types of materials—increasing the range and lowering the cost of fuel cell powered vehicles (FCTO)

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 the DOE SBIR and STTR programs is available on the SBIR/STTR website.