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Hello! This e-news flash will keep you informed on what’s happening at the DOE Office of SBIR/STTR Programs.

What’s New?

There is a lot new in our office right now, we hope you enjoy reading about it!

The SBA Road Tour is Back!

We are excited to announce that the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Road Tour is back!  SBIR Program Managers will be visiting five Midwest states, of which 4 are underrepresented for DOE SBIR/STTR, in 5 days during the dates July 17 to 21. Click on the image for details and to see if we will be at a location near you!

FY 2024 Phase I Releases

Please review the highlights of the schedules below for our FY 2024 funding opportunities. Remember to review the topics documents as soon as possible after the release date and see if there is a topic/subtopic pair where your expertise allows you to be responsive. Visit our funding opportunity page for the full schedule!

Note that the topic webinars allow you to ask the topic managers clarification questions on the solutions they are seeking. We also hold a funding opportunities announcement (FOA) webinar, which describes the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs and how to apply.  Finally, we host a popular “Ask us” weekly webinar series to answer your application questions.

Mark your calendars for these important dates!

Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plans

In accordance with requirements for applications submitted through DOE Office of Science solicitations, the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs will require that all applicants submit a plan for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research (PIER) Plan along with their applications beginning with our FY 2024 solicitations. PIER Plans are to be provided as an appendix to the Project Narrative and are one to three pages in length.

The PIER plan should describe the strategies and activities of the applicant to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility as an integrated element of the research and development project within the proposing small business concern. Plans may include, but are not limited to: plans of your small business concern and collaborating institutions (if applicable) to recruit individuals from diverse backgrounds and groups historically underrepresented in the research community; plans to contribute to a research and development environment that fosters a safe, positive and inclusive workplace a sense of belonging among all personnel; and/or training, mentoring and partnering with underrepresented communities.

Please look for a webinar invitation to attend one of three webinars over the next month to learn more about the PIER Plan requirements and provide us with feedback on what type of resources would assist applicants with this new requirement. Webinar dates/times are:

• Wednesday, July 5, 1 PM EDT
• Friday, July 7, 3 PM EDT
• Thursday, July 13, 3 PM EDT

Foreign Risk Management

The SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022 required Federal agencies to address foreign risks, particularly loss of intellectual property, in the SBIR/STTR programs.  A disclosure of foreign relationships was required for applicants, which DOE implemented in FY 2023.  For FY 2024, DOE will implement new requirements to ensure that applicants and awardees have adequate cybersecurity practices.  More information can be found here.

virtual Partner Pitch Program (vP3)

In January, active Phase II awardees were invited to register to participate in the virtual Partner Pitch Program (vP3) hosted by the Office of SBIR/STTR Programs.  There was an overwhelming response with 119 awardees pitch program, resulting in 14 pitch sessions.  The program provides the opportunity to be promoted to potential strategic partners/investors[1]. Phase II awardees receive coaching and feedback prior to pitching.

Concluding on May 23^rd, the FY 2023 Spring cohort included forty-seven (47) technologies (individual awards) pitching in seven (7) sessions.  To date, we have registrants from over 90 stakeholders (see figure) from which an average of seven (7) individuals attended the pitches in April and May. Stakeholders have reached out to at least eleven (11) of the presenting awardees for further dialog. Other stakeholders (UltraTech Ventures, EVOK Ventures, Dow Chemical, Bandgap Ventures and 3M), stated that they would reach out directly.  Pitch sessions start again on Tuesday, August 15^th with the launch of the FY 2023 Fall cohort.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Carol Rabke directly.

[1] Although partner registrants are vetted for appropriateness, DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that attend as potential partners.  Further, it is the responsibility of the participants to nurture and develop relationships between interested parties.

What Comes After I-Corps? DOE SBIR/STTR now has the answer.  Firstly, we have rebranded our customer discovery offerings to Phase Shift.  We have also added a Phase II offering to follow up what was called Energy I-Corps for SBIR/STTR.  Phase Shift II programming focuses on translating customer discovery insights into an operational cash flow plan to drive Phase III success.

Quarterly Commercialization Workshops

In FY 2022 Q4, an initiative was launched to provide virtual commercialization workshops to active Phase II awardees that address topics of importance for small businesses working to commercialize their SBIR/STTR funded technologies.  The FY 2023 Q1 commercialization workshop for active Phase II awardees was held March 28 to March 30.  The virtual event, Preparing to Pitch, included presentations from VentureWell and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation as well as panels that offered Lessons Learned from Phase II awardees that had successfully pitched their DOE funded technologies and Pitching Do’s & Don’ts from industry stakeholders (Dow Ventures, TDK Ventures, Clean Energy Ventures and Eagle Point Funding). This workshop had 108 registrants.  Participants also had the opportunity to hold 1:1 meetings with the speakers/panelists.  Interested in learning more? Check out the workshop recording. 

The FY23 Q2 workshop was held on May 25^th and covered the topic of Financial Modeling, with 70 Phase II awardees in attendance, with the following lineup of speakers and topics:

Remaining workshops for FY23 include: Navigating Phase III Contracting (Q3 2023 – September 28) and Licensing (Q4 2023 – December 12). 

Success Stories

We have four new success stories highlighting SBIR/STTR funded small businesses that have successfully moved their SBIR/STTR funded technology to Phase III (defined as non-SBIR dollars):

• Brains4Drones equips off-the-shelf drones with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide safe and efficient utility line inspections.
• Sigma Technologies is developing high voltage capacitors for DC-Link applications.
• Raytum Photonics’ innovative, customized, state-of-the-art laser and electro-optic solutions have increased target performance at Jefferson Laboratory by more than a factor of five.
• BioSqueeze’s biomineralization technologies promise to make well boring cleaner, safer and more productive. They are now raising follow-on funding, increasing headcount, and expanding into an international business.

Get inspired on your own journey by reading here how these awardees achieved success.

SBIR Partnering Platform

Under development by Phase III awardee, OmniSync, the SBIR Partnering Platform (SBIR P2) will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to help SBIR/STTR applicants and awardees  identify and engage with the myriad of partners required throughout technology development and productization. Partners will come from industry, the investment community, national labs, academia, and related ecosystems and will include subject matter experts (SMEs), collaborators, subcontractors, manufacturers, engineering/prototype designers, business service providers (accounting, market research, strategy, grant writing, marketing materials, web design), test/certification resources, etc.  Look for the SBIR P2 for DOE SBIR/STTR applicants and awardees to be unveiled this summer as beta testing is underway now!  In the interim, visit the Partner Resource pages on the DOE SBIR website.  Third-party resources providing commercialization services as well as manufacturing, test/certification or engineering design support are available in list format.  If you are a service provider that has not been included and would like to be added to any of these lists, reach out to Carol Rabke directly. Disclaimer: DOE is not endorsing, sponsoring, or otherwise evaluating the qualifications of the individuals and organizations that appear as partnering resources.

FY 2023 SBIR/STTR Small Business of the Year

Each year DOE’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) recognizes a U.S. small business that exemplifies the spirit of DOE’s SBIR/STTR programs by strengthening and expanding its high-technology research and development (R&D) competitiveness within DOE and/or the private sector. The EERE Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office's nominee TipTek, LLC won the 2023 OSDBU award.  A success story on TipTek is underway and will be available this summer!  Click here for more information.

Reminder

Phase 0 Application Assistance for First-time Applicants

Do you need help preparing your first DOE Phase I application? The DOE offers a free Phase 0 application assistance program to a limited number of first-time DOE SBIR/STTR Phase I applicants. Admittance is first-come, first-served for qualified applicants. We are expanding the maximum size of this popular program to accommodate more Phase 0 participants.

Outreach

Events

SBIR/STTR Program Managers participated in the SBA’s Spring Conference which was held in-person at the National Harbor, MD June 20 and 21. The meeting was very busy and over 105 entrepreneurs and other ecosystem partners visited our booth.

 Other recent and upcoming outreach events are shown below.