- The Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration have jointly launched the SBIC-Energy Initiative
- The Small Business Investment Company-Energy Initiative aims to help small energy development enterprises get private funding
- The DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization and SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation will lead the effort
The Department of Energy announced Monday that it has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Small Business Administration to create the Small Business Investment Company-Energy Initiative, a new partnership intended to steer private capital toward small businesses working on energy and advanced technology projects.
The partnership marks the latest step in the DOE’s ongoing effort to give small businesses developing energy-related technologies a more direct route to funding as they move toward commercialization.
What Are the Responsibilities of the DOE and SBA in the SBIC-Energy Initiative?
The SBIC-E Initiative pairs DOE’s technical and scientific resources with SBA’s existing Small Business Investment Company Program, an SBIC-backed vehicle that has funneled $147 billion into small businesses since its creation in 1958 and currently holds a combined portfolio value of $58 billion.
Under the new arrangement, the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization will set strategic technology priorities, offer technical and commercialization support and help connect investors with relevant opportunities. SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation will oversee the initiative’s administration and work to grow investment funds aligned with those priorities.
The SBIC-E Initiative will initially focus on investments supporting:
- Domestic energy generation and supply security
- Critical minerals along with advanced manufacturing and materials development
- Artificial intelligence, quantum information science, semiconductor technology and next-generation computing
- Next-gen communications systems, biotechnology and other emerging fields
The initiative is also expected to intersect with several existing DOE commercialization pathways, including the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, ARPA-E, the Technology Commercialization Fund, the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program and startups spinning technology out of DOE’s National Laboratories.
What Did Officials Say About the SBIC-E Initiative?
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the partnership reflects the DOE’s commitment “to invest its resources in American small businesses that will create jobs, strengthen our domestic manufacturing base, and unleash American energy production.”
SBA Administrator and 2026 Wash100 award winner Kelly Loeffler framed the initiative as part of a broader push to strengthen private-sector access to capital for fossil fuel, nuclear and electric power technologies.
“By aligning investment from the proven Small Business Investment Company Program with the DOE’s strategic priorities, this Administration will fuel the producers that deliver secure, affordable energy to families and small businesses across our great nation,” Loeffler said.
