News Releases from Headquarters›Research and Development (ORD)

EPA Awards $2.3 Million in Funding for 21 Small Businesses to Develop Innovative Environmental Technologies

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $2.3 million in funding for 21 small businesses to develop technologies that will help protect human health and the environment by monitoring air quality, treating drinking water, cleaning up contaminated sites, and creating greener, less toxic materials.

“These funds support small businesses that have developed new technologies to monitor air quality, test for PFAS, and address other pressing environmental challenges,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Through EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, we provide important assistance to entrepreneurs as they develop innovative solutions that will strengthen both environmental protections and economic growth.” 

These 21 small businesses are receiving Phase I contracts from EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which awards contracts annually through a two-phase competition. Companies compete for a Phase I award of up to $100,000 by submitting research that addresses key environmental issues. After receiving a Phase I award, companies are eligible to compete for a Phase II award of up to $300,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology.

SBIR Phase I recipients include:

• Creare LLC, Hanover, N.H., AirQAST Portable Automated Air Quality Monitoring
• Anfiro, Inc., Woburn, Mass., Block Copolymer Membranes for Total Removal of Ionic and Nonionic PFAS from Industrial Wastewaters Optionally Co-Contaminated by Alcohols
• Brisea Group, Inc., Parsippany, N.J., Development of Microwave-assisted Membrane Filtration for Pretreatment of PFAS in Industrial Wastewater
• AAPLasma LLC, Feasterville, Pa., Non-Thermal Plasma Assisted Inactivation of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Wastewater
• Framergy Inc., Wilmington, Del., Innovative Pretreatment Technologies for PFAS in Industrial Wastewater
• Mainstream Engineering Corporation, Rockledge, Fla., Field-deployable Measurement of Fluorocarbons in Water
• PTP Strategy LLC, Gainsville, Fla., CDD-SORT: A Next-Generation System to Detect Hazardous & Recyclable Materials in Discarded C&D Debris
• Faraday Technology Inc., Englewood, Ohio, Electrochemical Pretreatment of PFAS-Contaminated Aqueous Effluents; Electrochemical Extraction and Remediation of PFAS in Soils
• Talk About It Solutions DBA Remooble, Maple Grove, Minn., Fast Acting Bio-Derived and Bio-Degradable Paint Removers for Epoxy, Latex and Lacquer Coatings
• Claros Technologies Inc., Stillwater, Minn., Novel Sorbent Technology for Simultaneous Removal and Degradation of Waterborne PFAS
• Polykala Technologies LLC, San Antonio, Texas, Development of “Smart” Polymer Nanofiber Mats for Selective and Efficient Removal of PFAS from Landfill Leachate 
• TDA Research Inc., Wheat Ridge, Colo., Disposable Test Strips for Ultra-Sensitive Quantification of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Ground Water; Development of a Non-Toxic Paint Stripper
• Sporian Microsystems Inc., Lafayette, Colo., Low Cost Hyperspectral Measurement System to identify Harmful Materials in Construction and Demolition (C&D) Materials
• Oxbyel Technologies, Inc., Mesa, Ariz., Electrochemical Mineralization of PFAS in Industrial Wastewater
• QuakeWrap, Inc., Tucson, Ariz., Trenchless Water Main Point Repairs with SuperLaminate
• 2W iTech LLC, San Diego, Calif, Rapid Field Trace Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Substance in Water
• BioLargo, Inc., Westminster, Calif., Aqueous Electrostatic Concentrator to Remove Per-and Poly-fluroakyl Substances from Water
• KWJ Engineering Incorporated, Newark, Calif., Ultralow Power Sensor Package for Ground Level Air Pollution Levels from Wildland Fires
• MicroAeth Corporation DBA AethLabs, San Francisco, Calif., Black Carbon and UV Particulate Matter, Multi-Gas, Multi Pollutant Sensor Platform
• Intellisense Systems, Inc., Torrance, Calif., Remote Air Quality Reporting (RAQR) Device
• Enoveo USA, Berkeley, Calif., The NODE biosensor: real-time contaminant detection in stormwater
   

EPA’s SBIR funding supports both the economy and the environment by creating jobs and promoting small businesses to bring environmental technologies to market. One EPA SBIR small business, GreenTechnologies, LLC, is commercializing a sustainable and innovative treatment and nutrient recovery process for wastewater. Their processes recover nutrients such as phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen in wastewater and convert the excess nutrients into sustainable slow-release fertilizers, branded under the name GreenEdge®, which are being sold commercially throughout the country and internationally.

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program, enacted in 1982 to strengthen the role of small businesses in federal research and development, create jobs, and promote U.S. technical innovation. To be eligible, a company must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500 employees.

For more information on EPA’s SBIR Phase I recipients, visit https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/641/records_per_page/ALL

Learn more about EPA’s SBIR program at www.epa.gov/sbir and learn about the current open Phase 1 SBIR solicitation, which closes on July 31, at www.epa.gov/sbir/sbir-funding-opportunities. 

Learn more about the federal SBIR program at www.SBIR.gov.