The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced the awarding of 219 grants totaling $34 million last month. The grants will be funded through the DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs dispersed among 183 small businesses in 41 states.
The most recent grants will be given based on the selection of businesses through the government’s Phase I grants which “allow small businesses to research technical feasibility of innovations that advance the mission of the Department of Energy.”
Phase I grants are awarded based on a 6 to 12 month duration “with a median award amount of $150,000.” These investments are just a first step for many small businesses. If Phase I implementation is successful, “grantees will be eligible to compete for Phase II awards in fiscal year 2019 that will allow them to develop novel prototypes or processes to validate their Phase I research findings. Phase II grants have a median award amount of $1,000,000 and a duration up to 2 years.”
The SBIR and STTR programs were created by Congress to advance the mission of federal agencies by utilizing innovative small businesses. Additional information on the DOE SBIR and STTR programs is available at the SBIR/STTR Programs Office: http://science.energy.gov/sbir/.
More information about the projects announced today is available at the following link:https://science.energy.gov/sbir/awards/.
