Funding from the Recovery Act will be made available to qualified small businesses through the department’s SBIR and STTR programs.

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced that $37 million in funding from the Recovery Act will be made available to qualified small businesses through the department’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

“Small businesses are engines of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy,” said Chu. “By helping small businesses bring clean technologies to market, we can create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon pollution.”

The DOE’s SBIR/STTR programs target U.S. companies with fewer than 500 employees. Small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering are encouraged to apply. Applications are currently being accepted for topic areas related to improving energy efficiency, including:

• Advanced building air conditioning and refrigeration, thermal load shifting and cool roofs
• Water usage in electric power generation and industrial processes
• Power plant cooling
• Advanced gas turbines and materials
• Sensors, controls and wireless networks
• Advanced water power technology development
• Smart controllers for smart grid applications
• Advanced solar technologies
• Advanced industrial technologies development
• Advanced manufacturing processes

The deadline for submission of applications is September 4, 2009, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Approximately $8.5 million is expected to be available for new Phase I awards. Successful applicants may receive up to $150,000 for a Phase I grant for a period of six months to demonstrate the feasibility of the ideas that appear to have commercial potential.

Visit www.science.doe.gov/sbir for additional details.

Links

• U.S. Department of Energy Recovery Site
• U.S. Department of Energy SBIR/STTR
• U.S. Department of Energy