DOE’s Small Business Vouchers Program helps bring innovative clean energy products to market
Small businesses in the clean-energy sector have another opportunity to submit Requests for Assistance (RFA) for technical assistance from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) labs, including Argonne, through the Small Business Vouchers (SBV) Pilot.
“The SBV Pilot is a solution for small businesses to access the world-renowned expertise and instrumentation at DOE labs to help scale up their new clean technologies,” said Greg Morin, Director of Argonne’s Office of Strategy and Innovation. “Companies can take advantage of high-tech resources that they may not have realized were available, whether it is collaborating with our researchers or gaining assistance from top engineers or facilities.”
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, 2016, 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 hopes to increase the number of small businesses collaborating with the DOE national laboratories. As such, small businesses with little to no experience working with the DOE national laboratories are strongly encouraged to submit RFAs.
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.
Argonne has collaborated or is currently collaborating with multiple small businesses as part of the program. The eligible areas in which Argonne is participating are: advanced manufacturing, bioenergy, building technology, fuel cells, geothermal energy, vehicles technology and 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. $12 million is available for vouchers in rounds three and four. Companies have until Nov. 10, 2016, to submit RFAs.
To learn more about the program and to submit an RFA, please visit the SBV website.
If you have questions, please contact David McCallum, SBV program manager for Argonne, at 630-252-4338.