Partnering Newsletter and Blog

I was contacted by a small business developing a wave powered variable leverage pump (VLP) for seawater desalination looking to find funding and points of contacts (POCs) within EERE’s WPTO Marine Energy Program. Information was shared about EERE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) and it was recommended that she sign up for their mail list as well. Related topics in the open FY23 Phase I, Release 2 topics were also discussed.

Today, I was contacted by a small business developing technology for retrofitting existing buildings for building decarbonization. Related topics in the open FY23 Phase I, Release 2 topics were discussed. Additional searches yielded other funding opportunities/programs for them to pursue – an EERE building technologies program as well as related ARPA-e funding opportunities.

I was also contacted by a DOE Phase I awardee looking to develop relationships with nuclear power plants and/or nuclear regulatory agencies including Nuclear regulatory commission (NRC), International Energy Agency (IEA), Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) for inclusion with their Phase II application. Information was provided to review various ways to find POCs as well as the use of TABA resources.  Related topics in the open FY23 Phase I, Release 2 topics were also discussed.  Resources to find nuclear plants world-wide as well as within the U.S. were provided.

Today, I was contacted by a small business developing solar thermal technologies for community energy modernization. We reviewed the open FY23 Phase I, Release 2 topics with an eye towards understanding how to find topics of interest. The company decided to reach out to POCs listed for Building Technologies Office and Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office within the topics document to check research fit. I was also contacted by a Phase I awardee looking to engage with a National Laboratory during their Phase II. Information was provided on OTT’s lab partnering site.

As follow up to the July 2022 discussion noted below, I was contacted by a small business developing technology for accelerators looking to better understand who owns them and how to engage.  All of the accelerators at National Laboratories in the U.S. are GOCO (Government Owned Contractor Operated) which is why letters of support (LOS) can be written and included with applications.  This includes accelerators at PNNL, INL, LBNL, LANL, ORNL as well as Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) at ANL, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility at Jefferson, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University and the SLAC National Accelerator. Brookhaven is also home to the Accelerator Test Facility, which provides equipment to help scientists study particle acceleration and radiation generation.  POCs can be found by looking at the facility and national lab staff, for example: https://als.lbl.gov/about/staff/.

I was contacted by a Canadian company developing hybrid renewable power plants for smaller communities interested in learning more about the U.S. SBIR/STTR programs and whether or not they were eligible to participate. I suggested they review tutorials about eligibility on sbir.gov and told them about the DOE program and related topics (Release 2) should they successfully launch a U.S. based company.

Today I was contacted by an entrepreneur wanting to learn more about how to work with a National Laboratory. Information on OTT’s lab partnering site was shared as well as information about DOE’s approved, non-negotiable Strategic Partnership Project (SPP) SBIR/STTR Agreement template to be used with participating laboratories Ames Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Today I was contacted by an entrepreneur working on sustainable cement manufacturing wanting to learn more about starting a small business and resources to be accessed through DOE and SBIR/STTR funding. Information on patent resources available from USPTO as well as services that could be utilized with TABA funding were discussed. Information on the Building Technologies Office and their Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) as well as related programs within the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) were shared.

Two small business reached out looking to find local resources for business development. Information specific to Delaware and Seattle Washington was shared. Additional resources can be found by visiting https://www.sbir.gov/resources

Today I was contacted by a small business interested in plastic upcycling seeking contacts at Argonne National Laboratory, the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) and other potential subject matter experts. Related contacts were provided as well as information on OTT’s lab partnering site.

A small business developing sustainable fuel formulations from agricultural waste was provided with information on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO).   A link to a related VTO program was provided as well as a link to an article reviewing how agriculture benefits from IRA.  An IRA program related to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) was discussed.

A small business developing solar roofing tiles reached out to understand DOE funding opportunities and demonstration facilities. An overview of SBIR/STTR funding opportunities, information on the Solar Energy Technologies Office and related programs within, the Building Technologies Office, and NREL’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) were provided.

A small business developing methane detection and measurement technology inquired about follow on funding within DOE and/or researchers working in this area at national labs. A point of contact at Los Alamos National Laboratory was provided as well as information on funding opportunities outside of the DOE SBIR/STTR programs office.

A second small business developing methane monitoring technologies was provided points of contact within underground gas storage operators and oil & gas safety managers for customer discovery efforts.

Today I was contacted by a small business developing technology related to drones looking for information on related DOE solicitations/funding. An overview of SBIR/STTR funding opportunities, information on the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy’s (EERE) American-Made Prizes were provided.

A small business developing artificial intelligence for use with large, complex data sets inquired about contacts at national labs and access to data sets for testing and validation of methods. Various points of contact were provided. Core competencies and small business contacts for each national laboratory are available here.

Today I was contacted by a small business developing technology to recycle and reuse End of Life (EOL) Li Ion batteries collected from electric vehicles (EV) looking for information on related DOE solicitations.  Information on the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and a related Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) solicitation were provided.

Contacts within DOE accelerator user facilities at related national labs (Argonne, Brookhaven and Jefferson) as well as within the Offices of High Energy Physics (HEP) and Basic Energy Science (BES) were shared with a small business developing an ultrafast detector for HEP experiments.  Information on the global accelerator market was also shared.

A small business developing AI empowered fluid selection and sources, and subsurface monitoring tools for carbon storage, geothermal and oil and gas projects was provided with investors and oil & gas contacts working in these areas.

Today I was contacted by a small business conducting battery and materials R&D for electric vehicle (EV) applications that was looking for information on DOE solicitations through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).  Information on the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and applicable programs within VTO and BIL were provided.

A small business developing SF6 replacements for use on HV insulators was looking for contacts at National Laboratories.  A contact working in this area at Idaho National Lab was provided.

A small business developing long-duration energy storage asked about the availability of test grids.  Information on test grids available for use through the national labs was provided.

Today I was contacted by a small business developing tires with improved efficiency that was looking for information on the Small Business Voucher (SBV) program that promoted collaborations between small businesses and the national labs.  The SBV program was active between 2014-2016 but has not been funded the last several years.  Information on the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) and partnering with the national labs was provided.

A small business developing technology for grid cybersecurity was provided with resources within electric power utilities.

Today I was contacted by a small business developing automated solar module racking systems looking to connect with solar installer networks.

A small business developing technology that optimizes boiler temperature reached out looking for HVAC research contacts within the Building Technologies Office (BTO) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).

Today I was contacted by a small business developing powerline monitoring systems looking for introductions to SmallSat and CubeSat manufacturers.

A small business developing remote-controlled robotic monitoring tools reached out looking for offshore wind project information; hydropower and offshore oil rig points of contact and market size information were also shared.

Today I was contacted by two small businesses looking for DOE funding opportunities in the areas of clean hydrogen manufacturing, and plasma science research.

A small business developing advanced cathodes for Lithium ion batteries reached out looking for help identifying potential U.S. cathode manufacturers.