Hundreds of Small Businesses to Receive DOE Funding for 2050 Net-Zero Emissions Goal

Hundreds of small businesses from 42 states are set to receive seed funding to support projects focused on developing and deploying proof-of-concept prototypes for technological solutions that will help the Department of Energy achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The awardees will initially receive $54 million to finance 266 projects.

The 235 selected small businesses are working on technologies involving carbon capture and storage, artificial intelligence, electric vehicle batteries, advanced grid solutions, and solar and hydrogen power, among others, the Energy Department said Wednesday.

In a statement, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm noted that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the “backbone of the American economy,” driving the country’s leadership in energy efficiency, transportation and renewable power.

The recently announced funding will be used to support the country’s small businesses in commercializing clean energy innovations while creating jobs in the private sector, Granholm said.

Of the selected companies, 23 are owned by women and 31 are socially disadvantaged. Meanwhile, 37 states are identified as HUBZones, a program of the Small Business Administration that drives small business growth in historically underutilized business zones.

The awardees include Pathways United from St. Louis, Missouri; Community Energy Labs from Portland, Oregon; and Voss Scientific from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Pathways United is working on a tool that would build workforce capacity in underrepresented populations in the field of bioenergy.

Community Energy is creating an autonomous clean building control platform that would allow small- to mid-sized commercial building owners to meet their goals “simply and affordably,” the DOE said.

Voss Scientific is developing simplified and smaller high average-power laser amplifiers to solve laser distortions.

The funding support is awarded through the Energy Department’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.