The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.3 million to 13 small businesses nationwide to develop and commercialize technologies to help solve current environmental issues.

“The 13 businesses we are funding today are producing innovative and creative solutions for our country’s environmental problems,” said Thomas Burke, EPA science advisor and deputy assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “Small businesses play an integral role in creating technologies that will help ensure a sustainable future for our country.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.3 million to 13 small businesses nationwide to develop and commercialize technologies to help solve current environmental issues. (Photo: Top Photo Corporation/Thinkstock)

Each of the 13 companies will receive a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract for up to $100,000 to develop their green technology. If Phase I is successful, companies will be eligible to apply for a Phase II contract of up to $300,000 to develop and commercialize their technology for the marketplace.

Companies receiving a Phase I SBIR contract include:
-Prometheus SenTech, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio, to create a sensor to monitor organic compounds in the indoor environment.
-ASAT, Inc., Cottage Grove, Ore., to develop a cookstove that will heat homes and cook food while also lighting the kitchen and charging cell phones.
-Renuvix, LLC, North Fargo, N. D., to create a resin technology that will be free of toxic components and will improve the current process of creating polyurethane coatings.
-Faraday Technology, Inc., Englewood, Ohio, to develop an improved nutrient extraction technology that will be used to treat agricultural nutrients in wastewater.
-Microvi Biotech, Inc., Hayward, Calif. to develop a cost-effective solution for treatment of nutrients in wastewater and recovering the nutrients as a valuable bioproduct.
-NanoSonic, Inc., Pembroke, Va., to make an ultra-thin membrane used to recover phosphorus and other nutrients in wastewater.
-XploSafe, LLC, Stillwater, Okla. to recover excess nutrients in wastewater using sorbent pellets that can release the nutrients back into the soil.
-Professional Analytical & Consulting Services, Inc., Coraopolis, Pa., to repurpose plastic and automotive waste to produce electrically conducive plastic.
-Revolution Research, Inc., Orono, Maine to design the manufacturing process for a bio-based, “green” ceiling tile that is durable, non-hazardous and compostable, with higher insulation properties. 

More information about the EPA SBIR Program: http://www.epa.gov/sbir

More information about the SBIR Program across the Federal Government: http://www.sbir.gov/

Source: EPA