The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs offer competitively awarded grants to small businesses to support scientific excellence, encourage diversity in research, and stimulate technological innovation.
The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) conducts applied research, development, and innovations to improve the competitiveness of geothermal energy and support the continued expansion of the geothermal industry across the United States. GTO aims to significantly increase geothermal electricity generation and the use of geothermal heat pumps and district heating. Through SBIR/STTR, GTO funds competitively selected small businesses whose research aligns with and supports these goals.
The Office of SBIR/STTR Programs has launched the DOE Partnering Platform to help innovators find the partners they need for developing and commercializing their technologies. The platform connects users with a wide network, including industry experts, investors, labs, and universities, offering services like prototyping, testing, certification, and business support such as accounting, market research, and grant writing.
Current GTO SBIR/STTR Topics
Maximum Phase I Award Amount: $200,000 Maximum Phase II Award Amount: $1,100,000 Accepting SBIR Phase I Applications: YES Accepting STTR Phase I Applications: YES The FY25 Phase I Release 2 features three research subtopics for geothermal heating and cooling, focused on advancing technical systems rather than specific components and requiring collaborative efforts for success. Collaborative proposals involve multiple small businesses teaming up on a single integrated project, with each business submitting an application.
This opportunity targets ambient temperature geothermal resources only; hydrothermal and EGS applications are excluded.
The geothermal heating and cooling topic areas are:
- Low-impact drilling systems for geothermal heat pumps (GHPs): This subtopic is to support the research, development, and demonstration of advanced drilling systems for GHPs, with a focus on compact, automated, and robotic technologies.
- Rapid site assessments for GHPs: This subtopic aims to develop advanced tools for rapid site assessment and screening of GHP installation locations. Successful projects will address market barriers like site assessment, heat exchanger sizing, and permitting to accelerate GHP adoption.
- Geothermal heating and cooling for protected agriculture: This subtopic focuses on creating affordable geothermal heating solutions for greenhouses and other controlled farming environments. The goal is to support year-round food production, improve energy efficiency, and reduce fossil fuel use. GTO is interested in scalable systems that work in different climates, use less water, and help build local, resilient food systems.
See Topic C60-06 in the FY25 Phase I Release 2 topics document for more details on this topic area, and the SBIR website for information on applying. A Phase I application should focus on proof of concept via engineering design, materials development, modeling, and/or laboratory scale testing (as applicable). Phase I efforts should be scalable to subsequent Phase II development including model validation, prototype development, and/or pilot or field-scale testing (as applicable).
Maximum Phase I Award Amount: $200,000 Maximum Phase II Award Amount: $1,100,000 Accepting SBIR Phase I Applications: YES Accepting STTR Phase I Applications: YES The FY25 Phase I Release 2 features one topic related to enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Funding for this topic area is provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law).
This subtopic focuses on improving elastomeric materials used in harsh downhole geothermal environments, particularly in EGS development and high temperatures (over 250°C for long-term use and 300°C for short-term use, up to 375°C for superhot systems). Applications should focus on improving elastomeric materials specifically for use in geothermal wells, including for use in seals, o-rings, zonal isolation devices, pumps, valves, motors, and wellbore monitoring tools.
See Topic C60-07 in the FY25 Phase I Release 2 topics document for more details on this topic area, and the SBIR website for information on applying. A Phase I application should focus on proof of concept via engineering design, materials development, modeling, and/or laboratory scale testing (as applicable). Phase I efforts should be scalable to subsequent Phase II development including model validation, prototype development, and/or pilot or field-scale testing (as applicable).
Impacts
The GTO SBIR portfolio continued to grow in FY24 with 17 active projects (10 Phase I projects and 7 Phase II projects). Two projects were added with Phase I selections on the Advanced Exploration Methods topic area in 2024, as well as another Phase I topic area (Inhibition of Mineral Scaling). This growing portfolio means growing opportunities for DOE to partner with small businesses in advancing geothermal technologies. In FY25, GTO topics include low-impact drilling systems and site assessments for geothermal heat pumps, geothermal heating and cooling in protected agriculture, and high-temperature elastomers for enhanced geothermal systems.
The Twin Cities-based startup Darcy Solutions’ SBIR-funded project, “Advanced Geothermal Heat Pump System for Bi-Directional Energy Storage” tested innovative ground source heat pump (GSHP) technology to allow for thermal energy storage in shallow reservoirs. This technology, termed advective GSHP, fundamentally changes the way heat is transferred with the shallow subsurface. Darcy Solutions’ technology advances are being implemented in Rochester, MN, as part of a GTO-managed Congressionally-Directed Spending project to construct a downtown district energy system supplying heating and cooling for 2.3 million square feet of undeveloped property and 750,000 square feet of City-owned facilities.
Previous GTO SBIR/STTR Topics
The topics here are no longer open for application but are provided as a reference for the types of geothermal research GTO is supporting through the SBIR/STTR programs.
Mineral scaling in geothermal systems can cause challenges within the reservoir, wellbores, and surface equipment associated with geothermal energy production. Several methods currently exist to mitigate scaling issues but can require shutdown of wells or surface equipment and/or are administered on an intermittent basis, reducing their effectiveness. GTO is seeking projects to develop advanced methods to inhibit mineral scale from geothermal brines that improve on the current state-of-the-art in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, cost, and environmental considerations.
Data are essential to improving the cost and accuracy of geothermal exploration. High-value datasets can help justify investments in exploratory drilling, one of the higher risk phases of geothermal development. The primary research objective for this SBIR/STTR topic is to demonstrate significant improvements in survey cost, efficiency, speed, and/or scale compared to current practice for several commonly used methods to indicatepotential high-temperature geothermal reservoirs. Projects will also supply needed data to validate ongoing resource assessment efforts and support development of a geothermal resource playbook.
This subtopic focuses on accuracy of flow data measurements from individual geothermal production wells, especially in high-temperature conditions (> 390°F or approximately 200°C). Traditionally, power plant optimization relies on bulk flow data from multiple wells, which does not provide detailed insights into individual well performance. Accurate, continuous, real-time data on flow rates, temperatures, liquid/vapor fractions, and chemical composition from individual wells would significantly enhance understanding and management of geothermal reservoirs. By fully characterizing multiphase flow systems, these projects can enable operators to monitor changes in specific wells or reservoir zones, thereby improving overall efficiency and stability.
GTO’s sedimentary systems topic area aims to enhance the precision of flow data measurements from individual production wells, which is vital for generating electricity from geothermal energy. Accurate flow data are necessary for optimizing the efficiency and reliability of geothermal power plants. Focusing on innovative methods to measure flow data accurately is key to advancing geothermal energy production.
With this topic, GTO aims to develop integrated, long-term monitoring tools and data analysis techniques for actively-producing geothermal reservoirs. The focus is on measuring previously unmeasured field parameters or improving the accuracy, durability, and cost-effectiveness of current measurements. Addressing technological gaps and uncertainties is crucial for acquiring high-quality data and ensuring the economic viability of long-term geothermal energy production. Key areas include real-time data acquisition, uncertainty quantification, reservoir boundary definition, physical property tracking, and demonstrating long-term reservoir stability.
Learn More
More information about SBIR and STTR goals, eligibility, research areas, funding phases and amounts are available at SBIR.gov.
Open GTO SBIR/STTR funding opportunities are available on the GTO Funding Opportunities web page or the SBIR website. To be notified of future opportunities, sign up for GTO email updates.
GTO strives to provide clear and easy access to information for communities interested in how geothermal may support their energy needs. Learn more on our Community Engagement page.
Looking for a specific program to help fund your community's energy goals? A non-exhaustive list of grants, prizes, technical assistance and more can be found on our Opportunities for Communities page.