Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Decarbonization Offices Announce Funding Opportunity for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

On December 12, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a $40 million funding opportunity for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. As part of this funding opportunity, the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) and the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) expect to provide approximately $4 million in Phase I proof of concept grants. The SBIR and STTR programs have helped thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs develop the cutting-edge technologies required to accelerate our transition to a clean energy future.

Through the SBIR and STTR programs, AMMTO and IEDO provide non-dilutive funding to small business research and development projects that improve energy efficiency and material productivity and drive economy-wide decarbonization and competitiveness for American manufacturers.

The AMMTO and IEDO-funded SBIR/STTR Phase I topics include:

• Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies: An AMMTO-funded topic focused on developing the next-generation materials and manufacturing technologies to support a clean, decarbonized economy, including the following subtopics:
  • Power Electronics for Energy Efficient Electrification
  • Chemistry-level Electrode Quality Control (QC) for Battery Manufacturing
  • Other Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies: In addition to the specific subtopics listed above, AMMTO invites grant applications in relevant areas that enable next generation materials and manufacturing processes as well as secure and sustainable materials. 
• Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Recycling: A joint topic among AMMTO, IEDO, and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office to develop innovative manufacturing of clean energy technologies, advance novel recycling processes for critical materials, and facilitate wide-spread adoption of hydrogen production and use. Subtopics include:
  • Efficient and Sustainable Recovery and Reuse of Materials from Manufacturing Scrap in Fuel Cells and Electrolyzers
  • Reducing Hazardous Substances in Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Recycling
• Decarbonization of Agriculture, Buildings, Transport, Industry and their Communities: A joint topic among AMMTO, IEDO, and four other DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) technology offices to drastically reduce carbon emissions across the U.S. economy with a special emphasis on communities. Subtopics include:
  • Agricultural Decarbonization (including agricultural power decarbonization)
  • Buildings Decarbonization (including HVAC direct air capture technologies)
  • Transportation Decarbonization (including low carbon biofuels and energy efficient mobility systems)
  • Industrial Decarbonization (including conductive materials, heat pumps and biomanufacturing)
• Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization: An IEDO-funded topic focused on activities that address decarbonization in energy- and emissions-intensive industries and cross-sector industrial emissions technologies. Subtopics include:
  • Sustainable Chemistry: Mitigation of Hazardous Chemicals in Manufacturing Processes
  • Enhanced Waste Heat Recovery through Highly Efficient Heat Exchangers
  • Other Industrial Decarbonization: Additionally, IEDO seeks other proposals related to industrial decarbonization, especially those aligned with the priorities in the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap.

Letters of intent are due January 3, 2023, at 5:00 P.M. ET. For more information on the DOE SBIR and STTR programs visit the Office of Science SBIR website, view the archived topics webinar, or attend an informational webinar on December 16.

The SBIR and STTR programs were created by Congress to leverage small businesses to advance innovation at federal agencies.