Department of Energy announces $142 million in grants to small businesses

(Press-News.org) WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced awards totaling $142 million for small businesses in 34 states. The 123 projects to be funded address multiple mission-critical areas important for the nation, including clean energy and decarbonization, cybersecurity and grid reliability, fusion energy, and nuclear nonproliferation.  

American small businesses play a critical role in these DOE Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards, which transform DOE-supported science and technology breakthroughs into viable products and services, creating a bridge between the laboratory and the marketplace. The awards also support development of specialized technologies and instruments that aid in scientific discovery.    

Today’s selections are for Phase II research and development. Small businesses that demonstrated technical feasibility for innovations during their Phase I grants competed for funding for prototype or processes development during Phase II. In addition, prior Phase II awardees competed for second or third Phase II awards to continue prototype and process development. 

The median Phase II award is $1.1M for a period of two years. The funding for the selected projects comes from the following DOE offices: Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response; Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation; Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; Electricity; Environmental Management; Fossil Energy and Carbon Management; Nuclear Energy; and Office of Science.   

Projects selected for award include:   

ecoLong LLC, Slingerlands, NY: Hybrid Cyber Protection of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Operational Technology. This proposal will explore cybersecurity solutions that ensure the safe deployment and reliable operation of DERs in the smart grid, while helping to drive social, economic and sustainability goals.  There is increasing vulnerability of the nation’s power grid to security attacks and extreme weather events, which is expected to increase as DER deployments proliferate across the nation. Gulf Wind Technology, Avondale, LA: Passive Loadshedding Trailing Edge. Larger wind turbine blades are subject to increasingly dynamic operating conditions, including from hurricanes. This research will investigate on-blade load management techniques to reduce turbine costs. MAAT Energy Company, Cambridge, MA: Novel Plasma Catalysis Reformer of CO2 for Power to Jet Fuel and Energy Storage. This proposal works on an efficient atmospheric microwave plasma process, using renewable electricity, for re-use of CO2 to make jet fuel, and serves the need for low-carbon, high-energy density liquid fuels to be used in aviation. Nielson Scientific LLC, Lehi, UT: Scalable High-density Superconducting Flex Cables and Circuits. None of the current methods for fabricating superconducting flex cables offers a pathway to a scalable and economical high-density superconducting flex cable that fully addresses the needs of space instruments and quantum computers. This project will develop a new manufacturing technique to create high-density, electrically isolated connections at a scale necessary for the proposed flex cables.  Pitch Aeronautics Inc., Boise, ID: Drone-deployable Transmission Sensor Unit for widespread phasor, power quality, and environmental measurement to increase grid throughput, reliability, and efficiency. Utilities can significantly enhance transmission line capacity by adjusting maximum currents based on weather conditions. This proposal introduces a drone-deployable sensor to monitor these conditions, facilitating dynamic line rating, promoting broader integration of renewable energy, and reducing power generation curtailment costs.  Rivis Inc., Raleigh, NC: Rugged High Performance X-ray Tube. A high current electron source is being developed for rugged high performance X-ray tubes. Higher electron current increases the production of X-rays that are increasingly being used for materials processing, cargo inspection, and medical device sterilization.    SHINE Technologies, Janesville, WI: Investigation of Xe and Kr Capture with Porous Materials: Towards UNF Recycling Readiness. Used nuclear fuel contains radioactive krypton gas which is regulated for release by the federal government and xenon gas which is a valuable material. This project enables the study of permeable glass materials for the capture and storage of these gases.  Sydor Instruments LLC, Fairport, NY: Plasma Electrode Pockels Cells for Inertial Fusion Facilities. High-power optics are required to transform the decades of investment in national laboratories that led to the achievement of nuclear fusion ignition into inertial fusion energy power plants to provide significant clean energy to the grid. This proposal will continue to develop core competency in the understanding, development, and deployment of the plasma electrode Pockels cell, an electro-optic developed in the national laboratories that can enable and minimize cost of building inertial fusion power plants. Transitioning this electro-optic technology into the commercial public will support this emerging market and serve as an entry point for new start-ups pursuing this novel clean energy source.    The projects were selected by competitive peer review under the DOE SBIR/STTR FY 2024 Phase II Release 2 Funding Opportunity Announcement. 

More information about the projects announced today and a full list of all the projects is at the science.osti.gov/sbir/awards website. 

Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time.  

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