INL News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 11, 2016
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTS:
Julie Ulrich, 208-526-1572, julie.ulrich@inl.gov
Laura Scheele, 219-381-8672, laura.scheele@inl.gov
New opportunities for small businesses to partner with INL
IDAHO FALLS — Small businesses in the clean-energy sector have another opportunity to submit Requests for Assistance (RFA) for technical help from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) labs through the Small Business Vouchers (SBV) Pilot.
Johanna Wolfson, Technology-to-Market director in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), launched the pilot’s third round on Oct. 10 at South By Southwest Eco (SXSW Eco) in Austin, Texas. The pilot, part of EERE’s Lab Impact portfolio, aims to help small businesses bring next-generation clean-energy technologies to market faster by giving them access to expertise and tools at national labs.
The SBV Pilot opened its first funding round in fall 2015 and launched its second last spring. Since then, nearly 800 applications have been reviewed, and 76 small businesses from 25 states have been awarded a total of $14.7 million in vouchers.
Businesses new to DOE encouraged to apply
For this third round, EERE strongly welcomes the chance to collaborate with small businesses that have little to no experience working with a DOE national laboratory.
Individual vouchers range from $50,000 to $300,000 per small business and can be used to perform collaborative research or access to lab instrumentation or facilities. Companies selected must also provide a 20 percent, in-kind cost share for completing voucher work.
Vouchers are available in nine clean-energy research and development areas:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Bioenergy
- Buildings
- Fuel cells
- Geothermal
- Solar
- Vehicles
- Water
- Wind
The SBV pilot gives our nation’s clean-tech small businesses the opportunity to take their innovative products to the next level. By supporting their growth, the U.S. helps these companies make a more meaningful impact on the economy and clean-energy sector.
Businesses interested in SBV funding must be U.S.-based and U.S.-owned, with no more than 500 full-time employees worldwide. In rounds three and four, $12 million is available for vouchers. Companies have until Nov. 10 to submit RFAs.
To learn more about Idaho National Laboratory’s expertise and the process to submit a RFA, please visit http://www.SBV.org or contact Tammie Borders, tammie.borders@inl.gov (208-526-3992).
