DOE Announces More Small Business Collaborations
The new collaborations are focused on advanced manufacturing, buildings, bioenergy, solar, fuel cells, geothermal, vehicles, water, and wind energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy on April 21 announced that 38 small businesses will collaborate with national lab researchers through the Small Business Vouchers pilot, which facilitates access to the federal agency's national labs for American small businesses. Eight of the DOE national labs will receive funding to partner with 38 competitively selected small businesses nationwide.
"Small businesses are the engine of our economy, and those working on advanced energy technologies play an important role in ensuring our nation's energy security and independence," said Energy Secretary Rick Perry. "The Small Business Vouchers program is a great example of how DOE's innovative public-private collaborations are ensuring our investments in DOE national labs are maintaining and strengthening U.S. competitiveness long term."
In the first two rounds of the program, 12 DOE national labs received funding to partner with 76 small businesses. This new announcement means SBV will have forged partnerships between 114 American small businesses and the national labs.
The eight participating DOE laboratories this time include Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Argonne National Laboratory's Prototype Cell Fabrication Facility, and Sandia National Laboratories' Scaled Wind Farm Technology Facility.
The new collaborations are focused on advanced manufacturing, buildings, bioenergy, solar, fuel cells, geothermal, vehicles, water, and wind energy.