The Department of Energy (DOE) will award $54 million worth of federal funding to 235 small businesses to support 266 research and development projects focused on advanced grid technologies, artificial intelligence, carbon capture and storage, solar and hydrogen power, electric vehicle batteries and other technological products that could help DOE record net-zero emissions by 2050.
DOE said Wednesday the awards are made through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs that aim to boost commercialization of private sector-made technologies.
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm considers small businesses as the backbone of the U.S. economy, "driving America’s leadership in energy efficiency, sustainable transportation and renewable power."
Some of the selected projects are on grid-smart building controls and workforce development and experiential bioenergy learning tools. Voss Scientific, one of the awardees, seeks to address thermal stress by working on high average-power laser amplifiers.
“With this round of federal funding, we’re going one step further to tap this homegrown resource to help bring the next generation of clean energy innovation to market while creating good-paying jobs across the private sector,” said Granholm.
Of the 235 awardees across 42 states, 29 are women-owned businesses.
