This is an excerpt from the November 8, 2012: Small business funding, utility-focused solutions, and great gains for solar jobs edition of the SunShot newsletter.
Small Business Opportunity to Tackle Solar's Hottest Topics
On October 29, the DOE Office of Science released topics of interest for the 2013 Phase I Release 2 round of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. These federally funded programs support small business development through scientific excellence and technological innovation.
Although the official funding opportunity announcement is not scheduled for release until November 26, topics of interest have been made available in advance. These include:
- Technologies that solve photovoltaic (PV) module degradation and failure issues, such as water ingress and temperature stress
- Intelligent process control and real-time, nondestructive material characterization devices for use in metrology, diagnostics, and process quality control on the manufacturing lines for PV modules and systems
- Online, graphical user interface-friendly calculators for the wind-loads on PV ground-mount and roof-mount systems
- Concentrating solar power system with storage technology that is capable of at least 6 hours of storage when running at full capacity.
For more information, see the official Release of Topics.
SBIR and STTP both take a phased approach to research and development efforts. This funding round will make up to $225,000 available for feasibility demonstration with Phase I awards and up to $1,500,000 available for prototype development with Phase II awards.
Under an STTR award, the awardee must collaborate with a non-profit research institution. The awardee is required to perform the majority of the R&D in the SBIR program, but collaboration is optional. Visit the Office of Science website to learn more about these programs. Addition information about past awardees and current projects is available on the SunShot Initiative website.