2010

U.S. Department of Energy

Small Business Innovation Research

And

Small Business Technology Transfer Programs

Technical Topic Descriptions

 

OFFICE OF ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY

1.  Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and  Infrastructure Technologies Program

a. Energy Storage for Intermittent Renewable Resources
b. Fuel Cell Balance-of-Plant
c. Advanced Hydrogen Storage for Early Market Applications

  d. Low-Cost Dispensing for Material Handling and Specialty Vehicles

 

2.  Advanced Solar Technologies
  a. Manufacturing Tools for Reliability Testing
  b. Module and System Manufacturing Metrology and Process Control
  c. Photovoltaics (PV) System Diagnostic Tools

3.  Advanced Thermoelectric Technologies
  a. Cooling in Buildings, Industry, and Vehicles
  b. Advanced Waste Heat Recovery

4.  Geothermal  Energy Technology Development
a. High Temperature Downhole Logging and Monitoring Tools
b. Cements for EGS Applications
c. Drilling Systems
d. Fracture Characterization Technologies
e. Working Fluids for Binary Power Plants
f. GHP Component R&D
g. Innovative System/Loop Designs

5.  Production of Biofuels from Cellulosic Biomass
a. Biomass Moisture Management and Drying
b. Least-Cost Biomass Format for Efficient Logistics
c. Separation Technologies for Biochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic Feedstocks
d. Oil Extraction from Microalgae
e. Pyrolytic Conversion of High Moisture Content Biomass to Bio-Oil
f. Distributed Sorted Municipal Solid Waste Conversion to Biofuels

6.  Advancements for Subcomponents Critical to Electric Drive Vehicle Power Inverters and Motors
a. High-Performance DC Bus Capacitors for Power Inverters in Electric Drive Vehicles
b. Alternative Production Techniques for Homogenous Magnet Alloys
c. High Temperature Packaging
d. Non Obtrusive Semiconductor Die Temperature Measurements

7.  Wind Energy Technology Development
a. Manufacturing and Assembly
b. Component Reliability
c. Condition Monitoring

 


OFFICE OF BASIC ENERGY SCIENCES

 

 

8.  Technologies Related to Energy Storage for  Hybrid and  Plug-in Electric Vehicles
a. Technologies that Allow the Use of a Lithium Metal Negative Electrode in a Rechargeable Cell
b.  Multi-Electron Redox Materials for High Energy Batteries
c. Technology to Allow the Recovery and Reuse of “High-Value” Materials from Used Lithium-Ion Batteries
d. New Electrolytes for Lithium-ion Cells

9. Transitional Technologies for Solid State Lighting
a. Transitional Technology for Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs
b. Transitional Technology for Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs)
c. Supporting Technologies for Off-Grid SSL Applications

10.  Energy Efficient Membranes for Industrial Applications
a. Membrane Materials with Improved Properties
b. Biofuels and Bioproducts
c. Hydrogen Production
d. Industrial Membrane Process Systems

11.  Catalysis
a. Selective Catalytic Conversion of Fossil Feedstocks
b. Biomass Deconstruction and Catalytic Conversion to Fuels
c. Photo- and Electro-Driven Conversion of Carbon Dioxide and Water

12.  Hydrogen Safety, Storage, Delivery, and Production
a.  Materials and Processing for Lower-Cost High Pressure Gaseous Fuel Tanks
b. Reducing the Cost of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Pipelines
  
c. Hydrogen Odorant Technology
d. Hydrogen Production Process Intensification Technology

13.  Technology to Support BES USER Facilities
a. Synchrotron Radiation Facilities
b. Beam Diagnostic Instrumentation for Free Electron Lasers and 3rd Generation Light Sources
c. High Power Mercury Spallation Targets
d. Instrumentation for Ultrafast X-ray Science

14.  Radio Frequency (RF) Devices and Components for Accelerator Facilities
a. Klystrons and Inductive Output Tubes (IOTs)
b. Gridded Tubes and Cavities
c. Higher Order Mode Damper Integrated into Beam Pipes
d. RF Cavity Input Couplers
e. RF Power Devices and accessories
f. Modulators for High Level Radio Frequency (RF) Accelerator Systems
g. Low Level Radio Frequency (LLRF) Accelerator Systems
h. Devices for the Manipulation of Electron Beams

15.  Advanced  Sources for Accelerator Facilities
a. Electron Gun Technology
b. High Brightness Sources of Negative Hydrogen Ions
c. Undulator Radiation Sources

16.  Ancillary Technologies for Accelerator Facilities
a. Accelerator Modeling and Control
b. Superconducting Technology for Accelerators
c. Cooling of Superconducting Systems
d. Advanced Laser Systems for Accelerator Applications

17.  Instrumentation for Electron Microscopy and Scanning Probe Microscopy
a. Electron Microscopy and Microcharacterization
b. Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM

18.  Instrumentation for Materials Research using Synchrotron Radiation
a. Beam Line Optics
b. Control of Sample Environment
c. Detectors

19.  Instrumentation and Tools for Materials Research Using Neutron Scattering
a. Advanced Optical Components
b. Advances Sample Environment
c. Software Infrastructure:

20.  Novel Membrane and Electrode Development for Advanced Electrochemical Energy Storage
a. Cost Effective, Highly Selective Membranes for Redox Flow Batteries
b. Novel Synthesis Approaches for Low Cost, Long Life Li-Ion Batteries

21.  High Performance Materials for Nuclear Application
a. Specialty Steels
b. Refractory, Ceramic, Ceramic Composite, Graphitic, or Coated Materials
c. Assessment and Mitigation of Materials Degradation

22 Advanced Coal Research 
a.  a. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Conversion to Fuels & Chemicals
b. Alternative Fuels:  Catalytic Reaction Processing of Coal and Biomass in Ionic Liquids
c. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells:  Analytical Tools for In Situ Electrocatalyst Research
d. Development of Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide

 

OFFICE OF FOSSIL ENERGY


23.  Fossil Energy Advanced Research

a. Development of Gas Composition Sensor System for Use on Full Scale Power Generation Systems
b. Advanced Concepts for Powering Wireless Sensors
c. Computer-Aided Development of Novel New Materials for Energy Conversion from Coal
d. Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) Parallel Development of an Eulerian-Lagrangian Multiphase Model
e. Development and Demonstration of Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulator (APECS) Process/Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Co-Simulations for Advanced Energy Systems

24.  Climate Control Technology for Fossil Energy Application

a. Advanced Sorbents for CO2 Capture from Existing Coal-Fired Power Plants
b. Advanced Membranes for CO2 Capture from Existing Coal-fired Power Plants
c. Characterization of CO2 Geologic Repositories
d. Monitoring of CO2 Geologic Storage
e. Performance of CO2 Storage
f. Alternative Use and Reuse of CO2

25.  Coal Gasification Technologies

a. Concepts for Methane-Production in Gasifiers
b. Concepts for Feeding Coal and Coal/Biomass Mixtures into a High-Pressure Gasifier

c. High Temperature Heat Recovery IGCC

26.  Technologies for Clean Fuels and Hydrogen from Coal
a. Concepts for Novel, Non-Precious-Metal-Based Processes or Membranes for Recovering Hydrogen from Coal
b. Concepts for Enhanced Catalysts for Water-Gas-Shift and Fischer-Tropsch Processes for Gases from Co-Mingled Coal and Biomass Gasification
c. Concepts for Direct Liquefaction of Coal/Biomass Mixtures
d. Concepts for Extracting Oil from Algae

27.  Advanced Turbine Technology for Igcc Power Plants     

a. Advanced Alloy Development for High Temperature Turbines
b. Innovative Cooling Approaches
c. Novel Coating Methods for Unique TBC/Bond Coat Architectures that Can Operate at Higher Temperatures
d. Rapid Manufacturing and Prototyping of Gas Turbine Components


28.  Fuel Cell Technologies for Central Power Generation with Coal

a. Direct Utilization of Coal in Fuel Cells
b. Design and Analysis of Manufacturing Systems for SOFC Cells and Stacks
c. Post-SOFC Residual Fuel Oxidizer for CO2 Capture

29.  Oil and Gas Technologies

a. Methane Hydrates
b. Development of Petroleum and Natural Gas Fields
c. Enhanced Recovery of Unconventional Resources

 

 

OFFICE OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

 

 

30.  Carbon Cycle Measurements of the Atmosphere and the Biosphere

a. Sensors and Techniques for Measuring Terrestrial Carbon Sinks and Sources
b. Novel Measurements of Carbon, CO2, and Trace Greenhouse Gas Constituents of Terrestrial and Atmospheric Media

31.  Enhanced Availability of Climate Model Output

a.  Accessibility of Climate Model Data to Non-Researchers

 

32.  Atmospheric Measurement Technology

a. Stabilizer Platforms for Radiometers
b. Oxygen-Band Spectrometer
c. Measurements of the Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Aerosols
d. Measurements of the Chemical Composition of Atmospheric Aerosol Precursors
e. Aerosol Size Distributions
f. Aerosol Scattering and Absorption (in situ)

33.  Technologies for Subsurface Characterization and Monitoring
a. Mapping and Monitoring Hydrogeologic Processes in the Shallow Subsurface
b. Real-Time, In Situ Measurements of Geochemical, Biogeochemical and Microbial Processes in the Subsurface

34.  Imaging and Radiochemistry 

a. Radiochemistry and Radiotracers for Imaging
b. Advanced Imaging Technologies

 

35.  Genomic Science and Related Biotechnologies

a. Software Tools for the Systems Biology Knowledgebase (SBK)
b. Software tools for Export to the Commercial Sector
c. Systems for Growth of Fastidious Microbes
d. Dueterated Macromolecule Resources

OFFICE OF ADVANCED SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING RESEARCH


36.  Smart Facilities and Green Networks

a. Standardized Energy Measurement Interfaces, Integration with Facility Infrastructure, and Energy-Aware Algorithms 
b. Green Computer Networks
c. Low Power Portable Platforms Using Intelligent Sensor Processing

37. Cloud Computing

a. Turn-Key HPC in the Cloud

38.  Data Management and Storage

a. Green Storage for HPC with Solid State Disk Technologies:  From Caching to Metadata Servers
b. Data Management Tools for Automatically Generating I/O Libraries
c. Integration of Scientific File Representations with Object Database Management Systems

39.  Modeling and Simulation of Industrially-Relevant Problems
a. Simulation of Engineering Problems 

40.  Cyber-Security and Networking
a. NIDS Front-End for Load Balancing at 100 Gbps

41.  High Performance Computing Systems

a. Computing Applications Porting
b. Multicore OS Technology
c. Compiler Research for Code Instrumentation
d. Journal-based Storage for Parallel I/O
e. Advanced, Multi-platform Build Systems
f. Commercialization of HPC Programming Environments
g. Portable Linux Distributions for HPC
h. Software Fault Detection


42.  Collaboration, Scientific Visualization and Data Understanding

a. Collaborative Data Analysis and Visualization
b. Comparative Visualization
c. Distance/Remote Visualization
d. Interactive Visualization and Analytics
e. Techniques for Integration and Interactive Visual Analysis of Multi-Disciplinary Scientific Data

OFFICE OF NUCLEAR PHYSICS

 

43.  Nuclear Physics Software and Data Management
a. Large Scale Data Storage
b. Large Scale Data Processing and Distribution
c. Grid and Cloud Computing

44.  Nuclear Physics Electronics Design and Fabrication

a. Advances in Digital Electronics
b. Circuits
c. Advanced Devices and Systems
d. Active Pixel Sensors
e. Manufacturing and Advanced Interconnection Techniques

 

45.  Nuclear Physics Accelerator Technology

a. Materials and Components for Radio Frequency Devices
b. Radio Frequency Power Sources
c. Design and Operation of Radio Frequency Beam Acceleration Systems—
d. Particle Beam Sources and Techniques
e. Polarized  Beam Sources and Polarimeters
f. Rare Isotope Beam Production Technology
g. Accelerator Control and Diagnostics

46.  Nuclear Physics Instrumentation, Detection Systems and Techniques

a. Advances in Detector and Spectrometer Technology
b. Position Sensitive Charge Particle and Gamma Ray Tracking Devices
c. Technology for Rare Particle Detection
d. Large Band Gap Semiconductors, New Bright Scintillators, Calorimeters, and Optical Elements
e. Specialized Targets for Nuclear Physics Research
f. Technology for High Radiation environment of Rare Isotope Beam Facility

47. Nuclear Physics Isotope Science and Technology

a.  Novel or improved production techniques for radioisotopes or stable isotopes
b.   Improved radiochemical separation methods for preparing high-purity radioisotopes

OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

 

48.  Site Remediation and Deactivation & Decommissioning in the Doe Complex
a. Technologies for In Situ Measurements of Geochemical, Biogeochemical, and Microbial Processes in the Subsurface
b. New or Improved Waterproof Personnel Protective Clothing/Equipment (PPC/PPE)—
c.
New or Improved Mechanical Shredding Equipment for Piping
d.
New or Improved Technologies to Stabilize Friable Asbestos for Deactivation and Decommissioning Activities

 


OFFICE OF DEFENSE NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION 



49. 
Remote Sensing

a. Radiological Material Isotopic Attribution Sensor
b. Temperature/Emissivity Separation in Simple Geometries
c. Mid-Infrared Transparent Glass with Optical Index, n = 2
d. Megapixel Low Light Level Imager for Remote Sensing
e. Remote Spectroscopic Detection of Nuclear Reaction Byproducts
f. Waveguide-Coupled Optical Modulator for W-Band Up-Conversion
g. Time History of Optical Emissions

50.  Radiation Detection
a. Growth of Radiation Detection Materials
b. Radiation Detector Development

51.  Global Nuclear Safeguards R&D
a. Tags and Seals
b. Safeguards Measurement Sensors

52.  Simulation And Software Tools for Nonproliferation R&D
a. Proliferation History and Knowledge Base Visual Design
b. Radiation Detection Scenario Simulator
c. Data Processing Toolbox


53.  Research to Support Nuclear Explosion Monitoring

a. Waveform Communication Technology
b. Measurement of Xe Background, Transport, and Fate


54.  Nuclear Forensics

a. Codes for Radiation Transport and Particle Scattering in Urban Settings


OFFICE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 


55.  Advanced Technologies for Nuclear Energy 
a. New Technology for Improved Nuclear Energy Systems
b.
  Advanced Technologies for the Fabrication, Characterization of Nuclear Reactor Fuel for Generation IV Reactor Designs, and Fuel for Advanced Fuel Cycle Research and Development 
c.  Materials Accounting and Control for Domestic Fuel Cycles


OFFICE OF SCIENCE – R&D KNOWLEDGE DIFFUSION


56. Search, Discovery, and Communication of Scientific and Technical Knowledge in Distributed Systems

a.       Identifying, Searching, Accessing, and Communicating Science (Especially as Presented in Scientific and Technical Databases, Data Sets, and Multimedia)


OFFICE OF ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELIABILITY


57. Advanced Diagnostic Techniques for Electricity Systems

a. Novel Techniques for Power Line Sag and Temperature Monitoring
b. Development of Advanced Diagnostic Techniques for Underground Cables


58.  Advanced Energy Storage

 a. Innovative Compressed Air Energy Storage


OFFICE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS



59.  High-Speed Electronic Instrumentation for Data Acquisition and Processing

a. Special Purpose Chips and Devices for Large Particle Detectors
b. Circuits and Systems for Processing Data from Particle Detectors
c. Systems for Data Analysis and Transmission c. Systems for Data Analysis and Transmission
d. Enhancements to Standard Interconnection Systems

60.  High Energy Physics Computer Technology
a. Large Scale Computer Systems
b. Computational Methods for Petascale Physics
c. Software to Support Collaborations of Dispersed Researchers
d. Web Tools and Associated Infrastructure to Support Collaborations
e. Simulation and Modeling Techniques and Systems

61.  High Energy Physics Detectors
a. Particle Detection and Identification Devices
b. Detector Support and Integration Components

62.  High-Field Superconductor and Superconducting Magnet Technologies for High Energy Particle Colliders

a. High-Field Superconducting Wire Technologies for Magnets
b. Superconducting Magnet Technology
c. Starting Raw materials and Basic Superconducting Materials
d. Ancillary Technologies for Superconductors

63.  Accelerator Technology for the International Linear Collider

       a. Superconducting Radiofrequency Cavities

       b. Instrumentation for SRF Cavities

       c. Cryogenic and Refrigeration Technology for SRF Systems

       d. Beam Instrumentation and Feedback Systems

      e. Undulators
      f. Magnet and Fast Kicker Technology
      g. Polarized RF Photocathode Sources

64.  Advanced Concepts and Technology for High Energy Accelerators

       a. Advanced Accelerator Concepts and Modeling

       b. Technology for Muon Colliders and Muon Beams
       c. Novel Device and Instrumentation Development

       d. Laser Technology for Accelerators
       e. Inexpensive High Quality Electron Sources

       f. Hardware and Software Solutions for Accelerator Control

       g. Computational Tools and Simulation of Accelerator Systems

 

65.  Radio Frequency Accelerator Technology for High Energy Accelerators and Colliders

       a. New Concepts and Modeling Techniques for Radio Frequency Acceleration Structures

       b. Materials and Fabrication Technologies for SRF Cavities
       c. Concepts and Components for Producing Radio Frequency Power 
       d. Modulators for Pulsed RF Systems

       e. Switching Technology for Pulsed Power Applications
       f. Energy Storage for Pulsed Power Systems

       g. Deflecting Cavities (AKA “Crab Cavities”) for Luminosity Enhancement in Colliders




OFFICE OF FUSION ENERGY SCIENCES


66.  Advanced Technologies and Materials for Fusion Energy Systems

 a. Plasma Facing Components
b. Blanket Materials and Systems
c. Superconducting Magnets and Materials—
d. Structural Materials and Coatings

67.  Fusion Science and Technology
a. U.S. ITER Diagnostics
b. Components for Heating and Fueling of Fusion Plasmas
c. Fusion Plasma Simulation and Data Analysis Tools
d. Components and Modeling Support for Innovative Approaches to Fusion

68.  High Energy Density Laboratory Plasma (Hedlp)
a. Beam Generation, Compression, and Focusing
b. Fast Ignition