Each year (typically in September), the Department of Energy issues a funding opportunity solicitation inviting small businesses to apply for SBIR/STTR grants. The solicitation contains technical topics in such research areas as:

• Energy production
  • Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy, and Fusion Energy
• Energy Use
• In buildings, vehicles, and industry
• Fundamental Energy Sciences
• Materials Sciences, Life Sciences, Environmental Sciences, and Computational Sciences, Nuclear and High Energy Physics
• Environmental Management and
• Nuclear Nonproliferation.

Grant applications submitted by small businesses MUST respond to a specific Technical Topic and Subtopic during included in the open solicitation.

Both the SBIR and STTR programs at DOE have three distinct phases.

• Phase I explores the feasibility of innovative concepts with awards up to $100,000 for about 9 months.
• Only Phase I award winners may compete for Phase II funding.
• Phase II focuses on the principal R&D effort, with awards up to $750,000, over a two-year period.
• Phase III, in which non-Federal funding is used by the small business to pursue commercial applications of the R&D. In addition, under Phase III, Federal agencies may award non-SBIR/STTR-funded, follow-on grants or contracts for products or processes that meet the mission needs of those agencies, or for further R&D.