EPA’s SBIR Program
April Richards, Program Manager
2011 National SBIR Fall Conference
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Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
November 7, 2011
EPA-SBIR Mission
• EPA: Protect human health and the environment
• EPA SBIR: Develop and commercialize innovative
technologies to support the Agency’s mission
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EPA SBIR Program Overview
• Timing: Annual Competitive Solicitations
• Significant cross-agency involvement in topic
development and proposal review
• Budget: Award about ~$5 million dollars annually
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EPA SBIR Awards
• Phase I
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–Proof of Concept
–$80,000
–6 months
• Phase II
–Develop Phase I technology with focus on
commercialization
–Base $300,000
• Commercialization Option ($70,000)
–2 years
EPA SBIR Solicitation Topics - 2011
• WATER
– Drinking Water
– Wastewater, Stormwater and Water Reuse
• AIR
– Pollution Monitoring and Control
– Greenhouse Gases
• Innovation in Manufacturing
• Green Building
• Sustainable Utilization of Biomass
• Waste Monitoring
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• Homeland Security
Next EPA Solicitation
• Opens mid-March 2012 - Closes early May 2012
• For reference, please see our 2011 solicitation:
www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir/current_solicitation.html
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Potential New Topics for 2012
• Water
–Water-Energy Nexus under Climate Change
• Multimedia
–Net Zero Project (energy-water-waste)
• Rare Earth Elements/E-waste
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EPA-National Science Foundation (NSF)
Collaboration
• Goal: To increase the number of quality
environmental technology projects supported
through SBIR
• NSF funds Environmental Technologies
• Almost All EPA Topics Covered by NSF
• NSF SBIR Budget ~$150 million
• NSF has 2 solicitations/year
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Proposal Evaluation and Selection
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Phase II
Sorbent Technologies Corp.
Gas-Phase Bromination for Cost-Effective Mercury Control
• EPA has directed operators of coal-fired power plants to cap and
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dramatically cut mercury emissions.
Sorbent Technologies of Twinsburg, OH developed an inexpensive,
proprietary brominated powdered activated carbon (B-PAC™)
sorbent for mercury removal.
B-PAC™ can reduce the cost of mercury compliance at power
plants to approximately 25% of that of competitive products or
technologies.
In 2008, awarded a $40.5 million contract from a major U.S. power
generator to supply its proprietary sorbents to remove mercury from
the flue gases of coal-fired power plants in the Midwest.
In 2008, acquired by Albemarle Corporation of Baton Rouge, LA, a
specialty chemicals provider with $2.4 billion in revenues in 2007.
Creare Inc.
Low-Cost Machining Without Cutting Fluids
• Cutting fluids that are used to decrease blade temperature during
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machining processes pose risks to both human health and the
environment.
Creare, Inc. has created the Indirect Cooling System (ICS), which is
a low-cost system that indirectly cools the cutting tool without the
use of toxic cutting fluids.
Increases tool life by 700% and decreases part production costs
while improving final part quality.
Company teamed with Bell Helicopter-Textron for the milling of
titanium alloys for the V-22 aircraft and have also received funding
from the F-35 program.
Creare, Inc. has commercialized its approach by licensing the
technology to MAG IAS, a world leader in machine tool, automation,
and composites manufacturing systems.
For More Information…
• NCER SBIR website: www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir
– 2011 Phase I Solicitation
– Searchable database of all funded projects
– Success Stories
• Contact
– April Richards
– Marti Otto
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richards.april@epa.gov
otto.martha@epa.gov