PNNL to assist in bioenergy, water power and buildings technology
September 23, 2015 
Small businesses in the clean energy sector are invited to apply for assistance from the D.O.E.'s national labs through the department's new Small Business Vouchers Pilot.
David Danielson, D.O.E. Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, announced the launch of the pilot website during EERE's Industry Day event at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
"Small businesses that are developing the new clean energy technologies that are needed to cut carbon pollution and create good-paying American jobs often lack the resources necessary to move their innovative ideas from the Lab bench to the marketplace," Danielson said. "The EERE Small Business Vouchers pilot is designed specifically to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to the market faster by leveraging the world-class capabilities of our national labs to solve small businesses' most pressing challenges."
As part of EERE's National Lab Impact Initiative, the pilot aims to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to the market faster by enabling them to access expertise and specialized equipment at DOE's national labs.
The $20 million pilot will match clean energy small businesses with experts from DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, National Renewable Energy Lab, Oak Ridge National Lab, Pacific Northwest National Lab and Sandia National Labs, as well as other participating D.O.E. labs.
In excess of 100 small businesses selected through the pilot's merit review process will gain $50,000 to $300,000 vouchers to exchange for national lab technical assistance or initiate collaborative research projects. The assistance will focus on a specific technical challenge identified by the small business.
The pilot focuses on assisting small businesses developing technologies in the following areas: advanced manufacturing, buildings, vehicles, wind, water power, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal and solar. To be eligible to apply, businesses must be U.S.-based and -owned with no In excess of 500 full-time employees worldwide. A total of 3 cycles of competitions will be offered to interested small businesses in 2015 and 2016.
Businesses are invited to apply at the Small Business Vouchers Pilot website.
SBV contacts:
Tags: Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Interdisciplinary teams at Pacific Northwest National Lab address many of America's most pressing issues in energy, the environment and national security through advances in basic and applied science. Founded in 1965, PNNL employs 4,300 staff and has an yearly budget of In excess of $1 billion. It is managed by Battelle for the D.O.E.'s Office of Science. As the single biggest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on PNNL, visit the PNNL News Center, or follow PNNL on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter.
