Illinois Ag Connection - Energy Dept. Awards $13 Million in Small Business Grants

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Energy Dept. Awards $13 Million in Small Business Grants
Illinois Ag Connection - 05/24/2018

As part of a $34 million announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research and development projects, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will fund 87 new projects across 34 states, totaling nearly $13 million in funding.

DOE technology offices award Phase I grants to small businesses that demonstrate technical feasibility for innovations during the first phase of their research. Most Phase I awards are for $150,000 for less than one year. If completed successfully, Phase I projects are eligible for Phase II. Phase II funding awards provide up to $1 million or up to $1.5 million, depending on the technology, and an award known as a sequential Phase II award can provide up to an additional $1 million.

Nine EERE technology offices are funding 10 Phase I topic areas (Advanced Manufacturing I & II, Bioenergy, Buildings, Fuel Cells, Geothermal. Solar, Vehicles, Water, and Wind) across 29 subtopics. In Illinois, EERE-funded projects include:

- Emergy LLC, Lemont, will receive $111,846 for the utilization of wet organic waste to produce high value bioproducts would help to foster new industries, generating revenue and creating jobs from a domestic feedstock currently viewed as a liability. Emergy is developing a process to simultaneously treat wet organic waste and produce a material, often sourced internationally, that has high value and utility across many of the largest industries in the US economy.

- GARD Analytics, Arlington Heights, will receive $149,863.61, to address the earliest stage of building design, when architects think about shape and aesthetics but often do not understand the energy implications of their decisions. Software will be developed that will help architects understand the energy impacts of design decisions related to the shape, orientation, and layout of the building.

- QCoefficient, Inc., Chicago, will receive $149,523 ensuring a reliable and efficient electric grid becomes more challenging as more renewable energy is added to the system. This work develops automated smart energy transactions between electric grid participants that improves electric grid operations at higher levels of renewable energy.

- Beltech, Chicago, will receive $150,000 to address critical anode technology which enables safe, 3× energy density and low-cost lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and transportation devices.

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