Department of Energy to Offer Funding for Community-Focused Clean Energy Businesses

The U.S. Department of Energy on Dec. 13 announced $54 million in funding for small businesses to research and develop new technologies that help accelerate the transition to clean energy. The agency-led initiative will provide up to $250,000 and the applicants will qualify for up to $1.6 million follow-on funding, under the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. The program will support small businesses in integrating best practices for the first time.

An important function of this program is to stimulate innovation to address the challenges while transitioning towards clean energy. The department believes it is imperative to enhance the capabilities of small businesses in the innovation ecosystem so they can contribute to overcoming the climate crisis.

The department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy aims to improve clean energy planning by pairing small businesses with community organizations, as part of the program. The funding would allow entrepreneurs to advance their decarbonized energy innovations in coordination with people from those communities.

The initiative will support various clean energy technologies to advance the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. These include solutions around increasing the efficiency of thermal energy storage in buildings, recycling and reusing retired solar panels, and utilizing waste as fuel to reduce carbon emissions. Focus areas also include licensing technologies developed by the department’s national labs such as hydrogen contaminant detectors and solar power dispatch optimization products.

Awardees can avail additional funding through the Technical and Business Assistance program for commercialization activities such as product sales, intellectual property protections and market research. In addition, recipients of the award may find partners through the American-Made Network, a group of companies and industry leaders that offer mentorship and help small businesses develop relationships and advance their innovations. Many small American businesses have benefited from this program in the past by developing and testing prototypes that have been instrumental in the development of disruptive innovations in energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, and renewable energy.

Interested businesses are required to submit a letter of intent and a full application by Jan. 3 and Feb. 22, 2022, respectively.