DOE to invest $37 million for R&D into clean energy

The Energy Department plans to release $37 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to small businesses to stimulate research and development into clean energy technologies.

The funding will be available through the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs targeted toward U.S. companies with fewer than 500 employees. Topic areas being considered for funding include sensors, controls, wireless networks and smart controllers for smart grid applications.

Specifically, DOE is interested in sensors and wireless networks for buildings, industry and nuclear power applications; integrated power line sensor systems for the smart grid; and smart controllers for household use, personal electric vehicles, and dispatching of distributed energy generators.

“Small businesses are engines of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “By helping small businesses bring clean technologies to market, we can create jobs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and reduce carbon pollution.”

The application submission deadline is Sept. 4, 2009, at 8 p.m. EST. Approximately $8.5 million is expected to be available for new Phase I awards. Successful applicants may receive up to $150,000 for a Phase I grant for a period of six months to demonstrate the feasibility of ideas with commercial potential.