SBIR/STTR Applicant Resources

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Getting Started with Phase I

  1. Submit your pitch

    Give us your elevator pitch – why should DOE be excited for your application?   

    Within the ConnectWerx application portal, each small business can enter up to three pitches. If your pitch looks promising, we will invite your team to submit a full application for that project.  

    You cannot submit a full application without an invitation.  

  2. Complete your registrations and collect letters of support

    Before you can complete the full application, your small business will need to have registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) and with Small Business Administration (SBA) Company Registry.  

    These registration processes can be lengthy– so get started early! Don’t wait until you get feedback on your Pitch Page before starting.  

  3. Submit your full application

    It’s time to complete the full application. There are several necessary components so be sure to budget plenty of time to get everything done. 

    If you are invited to submit a full application, the same account you used to submit your pitch will be used to complete the full application on the ConnectWerx application portal, coming soon. 

Partners and Team

Commercialization Resources Icon

Commercialization Support Services

A technology innovation can only return impact to our nation and economy if a there is a viable and sustainable commercial value proposition. Simply put, a customer needs to see enough value in the innovation to buy it. As such commercialization is a central goal of the DOE SBIR/STTR programs. These programs target small businesses since they represent a primary pathway for high-risk technical research and development efforts to increase national security, revenue, jobs, and general economic benefits for the United States. Technology research and development is hard, but often the path to market is even steeper. DOE offers a variety of commercialization support services for small businesses at large, as well as its SBIR/STTR recipients. Click here to learn more about how we can help.

Useful Websites and Tutorials

Phase III Guidance

Phase I and II awardees may be interested in pursuing Phase III awards.  Phase III is work that derives from, extends, or completes the effort performed in Phase I or II. Businesses seeking Phase III awards from DOE are encouraged to read the following guidance. 

Phase III awards are fundamentally different from Phase I and II awards and there are specific statutory and policy provisions that address these differences.  These differences are summarized in this document. 

In September 2023, the Office of SBIR/STTR programs hosted a virtual workshop entitled Navigating Phase III Contracting – check out the recording and slides for more guidance on Phase III contracting. 

Need additional help? Please contact the personnel below. 

Determination of Funding Recipients

While the scores and comments of the expert reviewers will be carefully considered, it is the role of the Selection Official to maximize the impact of award funds.  The below program policy factors listed below may be considered, in addition to the expert scores and comments, in determining funding recipients:  

  • It may be desirable to ensure a portfolio with an appropriate balance of activities and demonstrable alignment with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) and the administration’s policy priorities. 
  • It may be desirable to select projects that will optimize non-duplicative use of available funds. 
  • It may be desirable to select a portfolio of projects that represent a variety of technologies, approaches, and methods under this program.  Additionally, it may be desirable to support complementary or similar projects which, when taken together with other Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) selections or other DOE-funded initiatives, will best achieve the program’s research goals and objectives. 
  • It may be desirable to select a project after evaluating the applicant’s performance under prior DOE SBIR/STTR awards including timely submittal of all reports. 
  • It may be desirable that different kinds, sizes, and geographic distributions of organizations be selected for award in order to provide a balanced programmatic effort and a variety of technical and commercialization perspectives, including those from underrepresented or distressed communities. 
  • It may be desirable to award institutions not previously funded by a DOE SBIR/STTR award.
  • It may be desirable to award projects that meet other metrics as outlined in the SBIR/STTR authorizing statute and other guiding DOE policy documents. 
  • It may be desirable to select projects that enable collaborations or partnerships with National Laboratories to commercialize DOE- or lab-developed Intellectual Property (IP). 

See, e.g., U.S. Department of Energy, Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0003202, https://science.osti.gov/-/media/grants/pdf/foas/2024/DE-FOA-0003202-000002.pdf.  

See, e.g., U.S. Department of Energy, Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0003020, https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/default.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fFedConnect%2f%3fdoc%3dDE-FOA-0003020%26agency%3dDOE&doc=DE-FOA-0003020&agency=DOE.  

See, e.g., National Laboratory Reports, https://docs.nlr.gov/docs/gen/fy26/96785.pdf.  

Additional Resources