EPA Awards $800,000 to Small Businesses in Ithaca and Potsdam, New York to Support Commercialization of Environmental Technologies

 U.S. EPA News Release:

EPA Awards $800,000 to Small Businesses in Ithaca and Potsdam, New York to Support Commercialization of Environmental Technologies

Part of a $3.2 Million National Announcement

 

NEW YORK (April 20, 2021) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has awarded $400,000 to Capro-X, Inc. in Ithaca, New York and $397,000 to RemWell LLC. in Potsdam, New York, to further develop and commercialize technologies to protect water quality and improve groundwater cleanup. The funded technologies are focused on remediation of PFAS contaminated groundwater and food waste management associated with dairy production.

“Small businesses are building a better future for our country with their entrepreneurial spirit and innovative technologies,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I congratulate the small businesses who are receiving this funding. Your work is essential to helping us achieve our goal of creating healthy, clean, and safe environments for all Americans.”

These two small businesses are part of eight nationally that are receiving up to $400,000 in Phase II funding from EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. These companies were previously awarded SBIR Phase I funding of up to $100,000 for “proof of concept” of their innovative environmental technologies and are now receiving Phase II funding to further advance and commercialize the technology.

Project descriptions of the two New York winners include:

• Capro-X, Inc. (Ithaca) – To develop a fermentation process, called WheyAway, that converts lactose-containing dairy industry process streams into treated water and a mixture of valuable fatty acid chemicals to decrease the expense and environmental impact associated with Greek yogurt production.
• RemWell, LLC. (Potsdam) – To create a remediation technology that uses high frequency ultrasound to clean up groundwater contaminated by PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and human body and are believed to lead to adverse health effects.

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program, a competitive program that supports small businesses in the development and commercialization of technological solutions. This program stimulates the economy while assisting the country in meeting its research and development needs.

For more information on EPA's SBIR Phase II recipients, visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/680/records_per_page/ALL

Learn more about EPA’s SBIR program: https://www.epa.gov/sbir

Learn more about the Federal SBIR Program: www.SBIR.gov

Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2

 

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