View as a webpage  /  Share

DOE SBIR/STTR Programs Newsletter                                                     July 2024

Featured News

We hope your summer is off to a good start! Here is the latest news from DOE SBIR/STTR Programs.

FY 2025 Phase I Release Schedule

Please review the highlights of the schedules below for our FY 2025 funding opportunities. Remember to review the topics documents as soon as possible after the release date and see if there is a topic/subtopic pair where your expertise allows you to be responsive. Visit our funding opportunity page for the full schedule and webinar registrations!

Note that the topic webinars allow you to ask the topic managers clarification questions on the solutions they are seeking. We also hold a funding opportunities announcement (FOA) webinar, which describes the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs and how to apply.  Finally, we host a popular “Ask us” weekly webinar series to answer your application questions.

Join our mailing list to receive email invitations to our webinars.

Phase 0 Application Assistance for First-Timers

Do you need help preparing your first DOE Phase I application? The DOE offers a free Phase 0 application assistance program to a limited number of first-time DOE SBIR/STTR Phase I applicants. Admittance is first-come, first-served for qualified applicants. We have expanded the maximum size of this popular program to accommodate more Phase 0 participants. Mark your calendars for these important dates!

FY 2025 Phase 1 Release Schedule

SBA Great Lakes Road Tour

We are excited to announce the latest Small Business Administration's (SBA) Bus Tour!  SBIR Program Managers will be visiting the Great lakes states (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota) in 5 days during the dates July 15 to 19 (yes this is next week!). Click on the image for details and to see if we will be at a location near you. We hope to see you there! Other recent and upcoming outreach events are shown here.

National Academies Evaluation

DOE is required to conduct periodic assessments of its SBIR/STTR programs by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  The National Academies has recently finalized the study committee for the next assessment with a kickoff meeting scheduled for July.  More information about the committee and the objectives of the next study can be found here.  Some of the key questions to be addressed by the next assessment in addition to addressing whether the programs are meeting their statutory goals are:  (1) understanding how research collaborations are formed between small businesses and research institutions that participate in the SBIR/STTR programs; (2) understanding the diversity of the SBIR/STTR applicant pool and its evolution over time; (3) SBIR/STTR program outcomes especially as it relates to multiple award winners; and (4) the effectiveness of the current operating model for the DOE SBIR/STTR programs.  The National Academies may contact past applicants and awardees as part of its evaluation, and we encourage you to respond to their requests for information or interviews to help improve DOE’s SBIR/STTR programs. 

FY 2023 SBIR/STTR Small Business of the Year

Each year DOE’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) recognizes a U.S. small business that exemplifies the spirit of DOE’s SBIR/STTR programs by strengthening and expanding its high-technology research and development (R&D) competitiveness within DOE and/or the private sector.

The EERE Water Power Technologies Office's nominee Tetramer (dba VBASE Oil Company) won the 2023 OSDBU award.  A success story on Tetramer (dba VBASE Oil Company) is underway and will be available later this summer!

Need Help with Commercialization?

Commercialization Workshops

Register to attend the virtual commercialization workshops presented each quarter by our programs office.  These workshops cover critical topics that are typically areas of weakness for startups: partnering, preparing to pitch, licensing, manufacturing, navigating Phase III, financial modeling, etc.  View recordings from previous workshops and the remaining FY24 schedule here.

Partnering Platform Use the SBIR Partnering Platform to find third-party Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) resources when submitting Phase I and Phase II applications.  Our public SBIR Partnering Platform facilitates partnering between DOE SBIR/STTR small business applicants and awardees (INNOVATORS) and various industry stakeholders (PARTNERS).  INNOVATORS can search for open SBIR/STTR funding opportunities from any federal agency, and network with other INNOVATORS.  PARTNERS post events, job openings and internship opportunities as well as non-SBIR/STTR funding opportunities on the COMMUNITY page, too.  New market research capabilities will be available later this summer just in time to help with FY25 Release 1 applications

Success Stories

Nion's electron microscope products enable resolutions at the atomic level – opening new fields of study using electron microscopes in materials science and biology, including energy conversion and storage devices.

Pixelligent Designer Compounds® deliver groundbreaking operating efficiencies and device performance essential for next-generation Consumer Electronics applications.