In March 2026, ten small business leaders from across the country joined CEBN for 25 meetings with congressional offices to discuss the importance of federal investment in energy innovation. As past recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) grants, particularly from the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, these businesses were able to speak to the importance of this funding to strengthening America’s energy economy. Working alongside our parent organization, the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), CEBN made the business case for federal energy investments through: 

• 10 small business leader participants, joining alongside larger companies and trade associations represented by BCSE 
• 25 advocacy meetings with congressional offices 
• 210+ business leaders signed on to CEBN’s FY27 DOE appropriations letter 

Congressional Meetings

Most meetings took place with the energy and small business staff of Members of Congress; a few business leaders also met their Senators at constituent coffee events. The offices we met with seemed genuinely receptive to hearing from small business constituents. 

Participants shared their stories about how federal energy R&D programs helped them start and expand their businesses, take on complex technology challenges, and attract follow-on funding from the private sector. These companies are developing a wide range of energy solutions: critical minerals recovery, enhanced AI security for nuclear, low-impact hydropower, tribal energy sovereignty, CO2 to liquid fuels conversion, geothermal energy methane management for oil and gas, bioenergy, and biomaterials. 

In congressional meetings, our group collectively advocated for the need to protect DOE R&D programs in FY27, strengthen guardrails against project cancellations, and advance bipartisan energy innovation legislation. Some meetings also addressed permitting reform or the future of energy tax credits. In addition, we expressed our appreciation to congressional offices for their efforts to reach a compromise agreement on SBIR/STTR reauthorization, which had recently passed the Senate and awaited an imminent vote in the House of Representatives. 

The House passed this legislation a few days later, on March 17th, sending it to President Trump to be signed into law. This development will bring an end to a five-month lapse in the programs and ensure ongoing continuity through 2031. CEBN and our partners advocated extensively for SBIR reauthorization over the past year, and this victory shows that when small businesses come together to vocalize shared experiences, it makes a difference. See CEBN’s statement and one-page summary of the bill.  

Other Activities

Small business leaders also met with the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization on March 11th to learn more about its efforts to help early-stage technologies reach commercial markets. Concluding our meetings that day, we hosted a networking reception in partnership with BCSE and one of its members, Gevo. It was a great opportunity to further connect with fly-in participants and other energy leaders in our respective networks. 

 On March 12th, several fly-in participants attended BCSE’s Energy Abundance Forum, where they heard perspectives from leaders at DOE, FERC, Congress, nonprofits, and the private sector on how best to support demand growth. 

We are grateful to everyone who participated in the fly-in and supported our advocacy. CEBN will continue in this Congress and beyond to elevate small business leader champions for energy innovation. 

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List of Participating Businesses:

• Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc (Lancaster, PA) – Parthib Rao, Senior Engineer: Advanced Cooling Technologies works across a range of energy management technologies, including methane emissions mitigation from oil and gas industry (under DOE/EPA MERP program), control of harmful compounds released during production of plastics (under DOE SBIR program), and data center energy efficiency, among others.
• Agri-Tech Producers LLC (Columbia, SC) – Joe James, Founder & President: Agri-Tech Producers uses its patented Combined Remediation and Bio-Product Production (CRBBP) process to plant fast-growing bio-crops that capture large amounts of CO₂ at low cost and convert them into bio-products. These crops also support remediation of Brownfields, coal ash sites, desert and mining-disturbed soils, the reduction of nutrient runoff in agricultural watersheds, and help reduce urban heat island impacts in high-risk communities.
• Covert Defenses (Lexington, KY) – Hany Abdel-Khalik, Managing Director: Covert Defenses develops secure operational technology networks to protect high-valued critical systems, including smart manufacturing, industrial energy delivery, and defense. The company has received DOE SBIR funding to develop strategies to embed security in smart infrastructure, automating the detection and repair of systems facing insider attacks, cyber-attacks, and ransomware.
• ElectraMet (Lexington, KY) – Cameron Lippert, Chief Innovation Officer: ElectraMet has leveraged SBIR and other federal grants to develop technologies for recovering critical metals from microelectronic manufacturing wastewater and processes, and is now engaged with fabricators across the country. Its main focus is on recovering critical metals from semiconductor fabrication plants, enabling a more secure supply chain.
• GlycoSurf, Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT) – Chett Boxley, Chief Executive Officer: GlycoSurf is a specialty R&D chemicals company that produces materials for a broad range of other applications: energy, agriculture, cosmetics/personal care, pharma, and anti-biofilms. The company has leveraged SBIR funding to develop bio-based extractants to process industrial waste streams and recover rare earth elements and other critical minerals that are essential for energy technologies such as electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines, semiconductors, and defense systems.
• Molecule Works Inc. (Richland, WA) – Mitch Odinak, Chief Commercial Officer: Molecule Works is developing technologies that convert CO2 to carbon neutral liquid fuels, provide cost-effective Direct-Air-Capture of CO2, and make building HVAC systems more efficient.
• Rosebud Energy Services Company (Avon, SD) – Jaime Poignee, Executive Director: The Rosebud Energy Services Company (RESCO) is a tribally owned entity of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in SD, working to develop novel energy solutions, improve grid resiliency, and create economic opportunities for its people. The firm has received several DOE grants to support energy project development and train workers in skilled trades.
• River Connectivity Solutions (Bainbridge Island, WA) – Andrew Peters, Director: River Connectivity Systems (RCS) develops innovative technologies to advance energy generation, protect water resources, and promote ecological balance. The company’s solutions, such as the RCS™ selective water withdrawal system, enhance water quality and prevent invasive species from disrupting ecosystems, while its iPS-RAS technology brings sustainable food production to hydropowersites.
• Teverra (Brookhaven, GA) – Emily Bowers, Legislative Representative: Teverra is an energy technology and consulting company that develops advanced subsurface solutions supporting geothermal energy, carbon storage, hydrogen, and other low-carbon applications. The company has led geothermal and geologic innovation for federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and National Science Foundation, helping accelerate the deployment of reliable, domestic energy resources.
• T2M Advisors (Sierra Madre, CA) – Josh Cable, President: T2M Advisors guides, coaches, and supports early-stage energy and material innovators as they bring their technologies to market. The firms’ clients work across industries such as critical mineral recovery, nuclear, photonics, and biomaterials–including a recent partnership in Alaska focused on bio-based styrofoam and housing insulation.