The US Environmental Protection Agency awarded USD1.6 million in contracts to 23 small companies to assist their efforts to bring promising new green technologies to market. This award is part of EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which helps small business throughout America develop technologies that are more protective of our air and water quality and promote alternative sources of energy.
“Since 1982, EPA has been priming the pump of American ingenuity to better improve America’s environment,” said Kevin Teichman, Deputy Associate Administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “We believe that small businesses can be leaders for green innovation and they are proving that economic and environmental gains can go hand in hand.”
Among the many examples of initiatives to emerge from the program:
• Innova Tech of Morrisville, N.C. is developing an affordable new way for restaurants or food franchises with charcoal broilers to reduce emissions.
• DC Instruments of Thousand Oaks, Calif. will use sound waves to detect water leaks in aging water infrastructure pipes. Finding and repairing leaks promptly prevents costly pipe replacement.
• A previous year’s contractor, Compact Membrane Systems, developed a vapour recovery system that captures and re-stores escaping gasoline vapour at gas station pumps, saving fuel costs and preventing air pollution. The California Air Resources Board has mandated its use at more than 13,000 gas stations in California by April 2009.
The Small Business Innovation Research program was begun in 1982. Under the program, small businesses propose to EPA innovative technologies to protect human health and safeguard the environment. These projects are then evaluated by the Agency and those selected can receive awards up to USD70,000 with a six-month period of performance. Those projects with the greatest commercial potential can become eligible for up to USD225,000.
There are approximately 25 million small businesses in the United States and these businesses employ more than 50 per cent of US workers. They also develop an even greater per cent of our nation’s new technologies. Since the program’s inception, EPA has helped fund more than 600 small businesses. A small business must have fewer than 500 employees, and at least 51 per cent of the business must be owned by US citizens to participate in the program.
The 23 contract recipients received their awards in January 2009.
