On July 10, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $72 million to support 296 projects in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.
Industrial Efficiency & Decarbonization Office
July 17, 2023
minute read time
On July 10, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $72 million to support 296 projects through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This investment includes $1.4 million in Phase I proof of concept grants for 7 projects funded by the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
American small businesses play a critical role in bridging the gap between the laboratory and the commercial marketplace. The SBIR and STTR programs help small businesses transform DOE-supported science and technology breakthroughs into viable products and services.
Through the SBIR and STTR programs, IEDO provides non-dilutive funding to small business research and development projects that improve energy efficiency and drive industrial decarbonization. For example, the IEDO-funded projects will advance technologies to decarbonize building materials, produce ammonia without CO2 emissions, and develop novel and efficient heat exchangers.
The seven projects will also have the opportunity to advance to Phase II based on their progress during Phase I. IEDO’s selections were made from the following topic areas:
- Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization: A topic focused on activities that address decarbonization in energy- and emissions-intensive industries and cross-sector industrial emissions technologies. Subtopics include:
- Sustainable Chemistry: Mitigation of Hazardous Chemicals in Manufacturing Processes.
- Enhanced Waste Heat Recovery through Highly Efficient Heat Exchangers.
- Other Industrial Decarbonization: Projects related to industrial decarbonization, especially those aligned with the priorities in the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap.
- Decarbonization of Agriculture, Buildings, Transport, Industry and their Communities: A joint topic among AMMTO, IEDO, and four other EERE technology offices to drastically reduce carbon emissions across the U.S. economy with a special emphasis on communities. Subtopics include:
- Agricultural Decarbonization (including agricultural power decarbonization).
- Buildings Decarbonization (including HVAC direct air capture technologies).
- Transportation Decarbonization (including low carbon biofuels and energy efficient mobility systems).
- Industrial Decarbonization (including conductive materials, heat pumps and biomanufacturing).
- Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Recycling: A joint topic among AMMTO, IEDO, and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office to develop innovative manufacturing of clean energy technologies, advance novel recycling processes for critical materials, and facilitate wide-spread adoption of hydrogen production and use. Subtopics include:
- Efficient and Sustainable Recovery and Reuse of Materials from Manufacturing Scrap in Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers.
- Reducing Hazardous Substances in Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Recycling.
Click here for more information on each of the selected projects.
These seven projects join the thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs that the SBIR and STTR programs have supported in developing the cutting-edge technologies required to accelerate our transition to a clean energy future. Information on the DOE SBIR and STTR programs is available on the Office of Science SBIR website.