The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program recently provided over $3 million to 30 small businesses nationwide for developing new technologies aimed at fighting climate change and other public health concerns.
The SBIR program, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and 10 other federal agencies, provided a total of $3,089,894 through a competitive process encouraging solutions to the nation’s climate and waste concerns through technological development, a Dec. 21, 2021 EPA press release said.
“As emerging technologies continue to rapidly change the world, our nation’s small businesses are at the forefront of harnessing these technologies to address today’s environmental challenges,” Wayne Cascio, acting principal deputy assistant administrator in EPA’s Office of Research and Development, said in the release. “We are excited to watch these small companies bring innovative ideas to the marketplace and help revolutionize improving our environment, public health and the economy.”
All companies selected have been provided $100,000 to complete a proof of concept which, if accepted, will make them eligible for an additional $400,000 towards further development, the release said.
One of the companies given funding is Veriflux Corp. of Washington D.C., which focuses on sustainable materials management, the release said. The company “uses a data platform to trace waste across waste supply chains to identify new opportunities for reuse.”
“We are excited to be working with the EPA to help bring traceability and compliance to renewable feedstock supply chains,” Veriflux CEO Dani Charles said in the release. “We are grateful for the EPA’s support, which will enable us together with our industry partners - to further innovate and add value across these complex yet critical supply chains”.”
The SBIR program was created in 1982 through the Small Business Innovation Development Act, the EPA website said. The program conducts a two-phase funding competition annually for small businesses aiming to improve public health and the environment.
