Congress established the Small Business Innovation Research / Technology Transfer (SBIR and STTR) programs to support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy.  Federal agencies with large research and development budgets set aside a small fraction of their funding for competitions among small businesses only. Small businesses that win awards in these R&D programs keep the rights to any technology developed and are encouraged to commercialize the technology. DOE’s Phase 1 Release 2 includes funding for topics at the Offices of:

• Electricity
• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
• Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation R&D
• Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
• Nuclear Energy

This three-phase prize will award a total of $4.5 million in cash prizes and $1.1 million in national laboratory analysis consultation and technical assistance to teams that develop innovative ways to extend the lifetimes of products or parts via re-using, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, or repurposing (“Re-X”) before recycling.  

The innovations developed through this prize will reduce life cycle energy and emissions, strengthen circular supply chains for emerging clean energy technologies, and decrease the demand for virgin materials. Innovations that enable new or expanded Re-X supply chains can also engage communities and labor, advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), and support the implementation of the White House Justice40 initiative. 

This lab call represents the combined effort of fourteen different U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program offices and the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). This solicitation offers an opportunity for private industry to partner with DOE’s National Labs to advance energy-related National Lab-developed technology toward commercialization and to reduce the barriers to commercializing lab-developed energy-related technologies and IP. The intent is to increase the volume and speed to which energy-related lab-developed technologies make it to market from an improved lab commercialization ecosystem.

For Year 2 of the ACCEL program, we’re seeking applications from innovative startups at TRL 1-4 with founding and executive teams that are primarily made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders who are developing climate solutions for the electricity, transportation, buildings, manufacturing, agriculture, and resiliency + adaptation sectors.

This year-long program combines acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation through a Greentown Labs membership, and extensive mentorship from Greentown and Browning the Green Space (BGS)’s networks of industry experts. Greentown and BGS know the climatetech industry must change the status quo to equitably position you to lead startups that will address climate change, support the development of diverse workforces, and fiercely advocate for the deployment of clean technologies in historically underserved communities.

EPA’s new Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funds in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input. They are designed to deliver on the transformative potential of the IRA for communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments.

Are you a Climate Tech innovator looking to commercialize your hardware product? Apply to the 2023-2024 Scale For ClimateTech (S4C) program. Through the S4C program, supported by NYSERDA, and administered by SecondMuse and NextCorps, innovators receive dedicated support throughout their manufacturing process in order to gain confidence in their path to market and scale up production to meet demand. Innovators receive dedicated support throughout their manufacturing process in order to gain confidence in their path to market and scale up production to meet demand

The Keeling Curve Prize, awards $50,000 annually to 10 projects that demonstrate the ability to reduce, replace, or remove greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and oceans. Since 2018, $1.75M has been awarded to 60 nonprofits, for-profits, and startups, and more than 1,130 viable solutions have been vetted. Eligible categories include carbon sinks, energy, finance, social and cultural pathways, and transport and mobility

NextEra Energy Investments, LLC (NEI), an indirect and wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc., is holding a Seed Competition. Startups have the potential to receive up to a $500,000 seed capital investment, with such investment documentation terms to be negotiated between the potential winner and NEI. The Seed Competition is intended for entrepreneurs solving critical problems within Cybersecurity, Data & AI, Decarbonization and Energy Transition who want to work with NextEra and its subsidiaries to innovate for a better tomorrow.

A signature program of NYCEDC’s Venture Access NYC initiative, the Founder Fellowship is designed to improve access to capital and networks for underrepresented founders across all tech-enabled sectors. Each year, the Founder Fellowship supports a diverse community of New York City tech startup founder teams with much-needed access to resources and networks to help them grow their companies. Selected teams are placed in Founder Fellow cohorts led by NYCEDC’s program operators. All Fellow teams receive unique value and offerings including:

• Individualized work plans to identify key needs and interests
• Cohort convenings to discuss challenges and receive business administration support
• Connections to capital providers and potential collaborators
• Access to mentors and advisor network

The SPARKS program—short for Spurring Projects to Advance energy Research and Knowledge Swiftly—provides a rolling opportunity for the rapid support of early-stage applied research to explore innovative new concepts with the potential for transformational and disruptive changes in energy technology. SPARKS awards are intended to be flexible and may take the form of analyses or exploratory research that provides ARPA-E with useful information for the subsequent development of focused technology programs. Awards under the SPARKS program may also support proof-of-concept research to develop a unique technology concept, either in an area not currently supported by the agency or as a potential enhancement to an ongoing focused technology program. The broad objective of SPARKS is to identify disruptive concepts in energy-related technologies that challenge the status quo and represent a leap beyond today’s technologies. An innovative concept alone is not enough; the idea must also have the potential to be impactful—meaning that, if successful, it represents a fundamentally new paradigm in energy technology with the potential to make a significant impact on ARPA-E’s mission areas.

This six-month fellowship empowers women and people of color to cultivate their technical and professional skills within the gig economy at mHUB. Fellows are offered unparalleled resources at mHUB’s cutting-edge innovation center in Chicago, including access to $6M worth of prototyping equipment, professional and technical development workshops, and a diverse innovation ecosystem.

In its 29th year, the Industry Growth Forum (IGF) is the premier event for climate tech and cleantech  entrepreneurs, investors, and experts from industry and the public sector to build relationships, showcase innovative technologies, and identify disruptive business solutions. Presenting companies are chosen from applicants vetted by a selection committee of more than 100 climate tech and cleantech investors and industry experts. This rigorous screening process provides beneficial feedback to startups that apply. The top 40 companies are invited to present.