Topics for our FY13 SBIR/STTR Phase I Release 1 Funding Opportunity Announcement are now open. The Funding Opportunity Announcement will be released Aug 13.
Transforming ideas from research concepts on the drawing board to innovations in the marketplace is essential for a competitive and prosperous U.S. economy.
Funds regional innovation centers in distressed areas.
The Obama Administration's Startup America Initiative inspires and promotes entrepreneurship.
Early stage energy technologies face a number of challenges in transitioning for basic research to market solutions. The Energy Department has created specific initiatives in order to address the commercialization challenges that energy efficient and renewable energy technologies must face. These initiatives are developed to launch emerging energy technologies off the ground and into the marketplace.
As President Obama said, "Innovation fuels economic growth, the creation of new industries, companies, jobs, products and services, and the global competitiveness of U.S. industries. One driver of successful innovation is technology transfer, in which the private sector adapts Federal research for use in the marketplace." - Presidential Memorandum, October 28, 2011
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)
The topics for FY 2013 have been released, and a Funding Opportunity Announcement will be issued on August 13th. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investmetn of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy. Each year the Department issues Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOA) inviting small businesses to apply for SBIR/STTR grants. These FOAs contain topics in such research areas as: clean energy; fossil, nuclear and renewable energy (energy production and use in buildings, vehicles, and industry); electricity delivery and reliability; basic science and engineering; fundamental energy sciences; fusion energy, high energy and nuclear physics; nuclear security; environmental management; and nuclear nonproliferation. Learn more about the phases of the SBIR/STTR programs and get additional information on their website: http://science.energy.gov/sbir/about/
ARPA-E Funding Opportunities
ARPA-E’s mission is to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce America’s dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy related emissions (including greenhouse gasses); improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy and ensure that the U.S. maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies. View funding opportunities at their website here.
Energy Innovation Portal
In concert with NREL, EERE has developed the Energy Innovation Portal as a key tool for investors, entrepreneurs, and other technology seekers to rapidly filter and identify technologies that have been developed by DOE laboratories and are available for licensing. The portal provides streamlined searching and browsing of patents, patent applications, and marketing summaries for clean energy technologies from DOE laboratories and participating research institutions.
Portal users can:
- Search thousands of clean energy related patents available for licensing as well as patent applications that have been created using DOE funding since 1992
- Browse marketing summaries of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies available for licensing organized into 14 technology areas
- Sign up for e-mail updates
- Link directly to the DOE laboratories that developed the available technologies to get more information.
Visit the EERE Energy Innovation Portal.
Grants.gov
A federal grant is an award of financial assistance from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by a law of the United States. Federal grants are not federal assistance or loans to individuals. Find grant opportunities at the Energy Department here.
You can also view resources at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's financial opportunites website to view specific opportunities on grants.gov that are for business, industry, and universities. These are organized by technology type at this website: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/financing/business.html
National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition is designed to build regional networks of student-focused business creation contests across the country. Through spring and early summer 2012, six Regional Clean Energy Business Plan Competitions will take place across the country—representing all of the United States' distinct regions.
Innovation Ecosystem Initiative
Transforming ideas from research concepts on the drawing board to innovations in the marketplace is essential for a competitive and prosperous U.S. economy. To accelerate high-growth entrepreneurship and job-creation by moving energy efficient and renewable energy technologies from university laboratories to the market, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $5.25 million to five three-year projects under the Innovation Ecosystem Initiative.
i6 Green Challenge
The i6 Green Challenge is part of the Obama Administration's Startup America initiative at the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition aims to inspire and promote entrepreneurship and aims to encourage and reward innovative Proof of Concept Centers that accelerate technology commercialization and help bridge the gap between university research and private sector job creation.
National Laboratory Technology Transfer Programs
The Department's 17 National Laboratories run a number of technology transfer and commercialization programs. For example, at the Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico, the Venture Acceleration Fund provides investments of up to $100,000 for regional entreprenuers, companies, investors, or strategic partners to promote technology commercialization, new company foundation, and business growth.
You can visit our labs' websites to learn more about their technology transfer programs: Ames Laboratory; Argonne National Laboratory; Brookhaven National Laboratory; Fermilab; Idaho National Laboratory; Laurence Berkley National Laboratory; National Energy Technology Lab; National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Princeton Plasma Physics National Laboratory; Sandia National Laboratory; Savannah River National Laboratory;
Commercialization Assistance Program - NREL
The NREL Commercialization Assistance Program (NCAP) helps emerging companies overcome technical barriers to commercializing clean energy technology. The program specifically helps renewable energy and energy efficiency companies by providing free assistance or information to help small businesses with specific technology questions or needs.