Small Innovative Projects (SIPS) in Solar 2022: Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power and Photovoltaics funding program will award up to $5 million for projects that seek to fund innovative research and development seedling projects in photovoltaics (PV) and concentrating solar-thermal power (CSP) technologies in an effort to accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of solar technology. SETO expects to make about 15 to 23 awards, each ranging between $250,000 and $400,000. Teams from universities, federally-funded research and development centers, nonprofit and for-profit companies, community-based organizations, state agencies, and local governments are encouraged to apply. Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a brief 1-2 paragraph, mandatory letter of intent is due on February 28 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Fiscal Year 2022 Research, Development, and Demonstration funding program, which will award up to $25 million for innovative projects in CSP technologies. These projects will accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of solar technology. Projects supported by this opportunity will focus on lowering the cost of CSP technologies and creating new market opportunities for the industry, with the goal of enabling substantial deployment of CSP to decarbonize the electricity grid and energy system. These projects will work to apply CSP to new industries and advance the development of components for next-generation CSP systems based on solid particle heat transfer media. SETO expects to make about 8 to 15 awards, each ranging between $750,000 and $6 million. Diverse teams from universities, federally-funded research and development centers, nonprofit and for-profit companies, community-based organizations, state agencies, and local governments are encouraged to apply. Prior to submitting a full application for this opportunity, a brief, mandatory letter of intent is due on March 16 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Venture For ClimateTech (V4C) is a program under the For ClimateTech (FCT) umbrella and is powered by NextCorps and SecondMuse and supported by NYSERDA. V4C is focused on helping to advance energy, food & agriculture, buildings, and transportation as key strategic areas for the New York State climate tech landscape.

V4C is currently looking for solutions in the following challenge areas: Future of Cities, Women in ClimateTech, and Web3 & ClimateTech

The real estate industry is the largest contributor to humanity’s most significant challenge, the global climate crisis. With buildings accounting for 40% of global energy, greenhouse gases and raw materials, real estate’s adoption of innovative technologies and Net Zero solutions will be a major catalyst to avoiding a climate disaster. The Net Zero Lab is focused on tackling the climate crisis by facilitating the successful collaboration between large, successful real estate owners, operators, vendors, and innovative startups driven to deliver energy efficient and Net Zero focused technology solutions. Upward Enterprise Partners are looking for advanced technologies that are focused on Net Zero and alternative, sustainable energy solutions that will minimize energy consumption and significantly reduce carbon footprint in the built environment under the following categories: heating & cooling, energy generation & storage, building automation, building envelope, energy efficient equipment, software & reporting.

U.S. DOT’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awards contracts to small businesses to pursue research on and develop innovative solutions to our nation’s transportation challenges.  For the U.S. DOT SBIR Program, Phase I offers can be funded up to $200,000 unless otherwise noted in Section VIII. The period of performance of the resulting contract shall be six months. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is looking for proposed research the would explore the creation of a tool or application that can help transit agencies select the right battery electric bus for their unique systems—taking into consideration terrain, climate, length of route, etc.—and to create models to predict the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts of this change in transportation type. Click above to view the full list of research topics.

KickStart Venture Services, a department in Innovate Carolina’s Office of Technology Commercialization at UNC-Chapel Hill, supports research-based startup formation and growth by providing education, early-stage funding, and on-campus accelerator space.

In addition, KickStart has quarterly Commercialization Grant Awards, ranging from $5,000 – $50,000.

Selected start-ups will receive coaching and guidance from SeaAhead staff, a designated stand and presentation time at the 2022 IPF, dedicated promotions, and a deeply discounted registration cost at the IPF conference.

The AlgaePrize, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office and supported by The Algae Foundation and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), challenges students to become the next generation of bioeconomy professionals by expanding novel solutions to production, processing, and new product development on the way to gigaton-scale algae commercialization for fuel, food, products, and carbon dioxide utilization/sequestration.

The 2022–2023 AlgaePrize competition is open to teams of two or more students currently enrolled in a U.S.-based high school, community or technical college, college, university, or graduate program.

 Apply to the 2022 Cleantech Open accelerator to gain access to a full business development program, that includes expert mentors, investor introductions, industry connections, and a chance to compete regionally and nationally for cash prizes and in-kind services to launch your venture. Compete for $60,000 in cash prizes in the Northeast, and a $50,000 National Grand Prize. The early bird deadline is February 28, and the final deadline is April 17.

A majority of Cleantech Open alumni have survived the merciless technology startup “valley of death” and gone on to raise $1.2 billion and create over 3,000 clean economy jobs.

ARPA-E has announced the third round of funding under the SEED Exploratory Topic. Successful SEED projects should create new paradigms in energy technology and have the potential to achieve significant reductions in U.S. energy consumption, energy-related imports, or energy-related emissions. SEED awards will support research projects that establish potential new areas for technology development and provide ARPA-E with information that could lead to new ARPA-E focused funding programs.

Awards may support exploratory research to establish viability, proof-of-concept demonstration for new energy technology, and/or modeling and simulation efforts to guide development for new energy technologies.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) seeks to empower regions to harness the benefits of a clean energy future. This FOA supports multiple avenues for localities to improve their energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and bolster their local workforce through research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) projects for renewable-fueled energy systems and technical assistance to support manufacturers in adopting innovative, smart technologies to help better manage their energy use.

Under this FOA, DOE will provide up to $7.5 million to support activities that drive innovation, deployment, and technical assistance activities for clean energy technologies that are critical for climate protection under two topics:

Topic Area 1: Advanced Technology Demonstration in a Renewably Supplied District Energy System

Topic Area 2: Regional Initiative to Integrate Smart Manufacturing and Energy Management Systems