EPA Announces $600,000 in Funding to Pacific Southwest Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies

U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Announces $600,000 in Funding to Pacific Southwest Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $2,499,229 in awards to 24 U.S. small businesses to develop innovative technologies that help support EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment. Six small businesses in California and Hawaii will receive $600,000 to focus on a range of environmental challenges.

“We have the opportunity to confront our greatest environmental challenges with the strength and creativity of American innovators,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I congratulate all of the small businesses receiving EPA funding today. I look forward to working with them to harness the power of innovation to build a healthier, safer and more equitable future.”

“Small businesses are confronting important environmental challenges head on with creativity and ingenuity,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, Deborah Jordan. “I congratulate the small businesses from California and Hawaii who are receiving EPA funding today. EPA is proud to support their efforts to develop innovative environmental solutions.“

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program established by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. The small businesses in today’s announcement are receiving Phase I awards of up to $100,000 for six months for “proof of concept” of their proposed technology. Companies that successfully complete Phase I can then submit a proposal for a Phase II award of up to $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology.

SBIR Phase I recipients in California and Hawaii include:

• Nikira Labs Inc. (Mountain View, Calif.) - A high-selective ethylene oxide analyzer developed using open-path, mid-infrared cavity enhanced spectrometry.

• Hyperion Analytical LLC (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) - An analytical system for water treatment systems to provide near-real-time measurement of N-nitrosamines which are a potential human health concern.
• Intelligent Optical Systems, Inc. (Torrance, Calif.) - An integrated sensor system to monitor contaminants in water.
• Photon Systems Inc. (Covina, Calif.) - An in-situ, reagent-less sensor for continuous microbial monitoring in water reuse treatment systems.
• Simonpietri Enterprises LLC (Kailua, Hawaii) - An integrated system to safely gasify construction and demolition wood into low-greenhouse gas transportation fuel.

• Verdant Structural Engineers (Berkeley, Calif.) - Carbon-storing straw structural insulated panels for residential applications in the U.S. which are less toxic and improve lifecycle impacts of building materials.

To learn more about EPA’s SBIR Phase I winners, please visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/679/records_per_page/ALL.

To learn more about EPA’s SBIR program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/sbir.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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