The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering oversees the Department of Defense (DoD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. These competitive programs are Congressionally authorized set-asides established to encourage domestic small businesses to engage in research and development with the potential for commercialization. The SBIR/STTR programs support scientific excellence and technological innovation through the investment of Federal research funds in critical American priorities to build a strong national economy and accelerate capabilities to the warfighter. ​Find out what topics are currently open or learn when the next solicitation will be available.

The Global Climate Innovator Challenge is a global program which brings together changemakers, climate entrepreneurs, sustainability technologists, and decision makers in the climate world to help accelerate the next wave of innovative solutions to achieve our 1.5ºC climate goal. We are looking for innovative solutions or ideas (including but not limited to technology, product, business model, or approach) that can accelerate progress towards 1.5°C climate goal. Professional Innovators can participate in the Challenge as an incorporated entity. You need to submit a summary of your Solution, with an identified stage before the deadline. Youth Innovators (<24yo) can participate in the Challenge as a team of 2-4 members.

Top 3 finalists will be invited to attend the black-tie Ambassador Gala;  receive continued support to fast-track their growth in the following 12 months, including mentorship, feedback, training, and resources from the GCIC network; and be invited to showcase the progress of their growth in the next year at the 2024 Global Climate Innovation Summit.

Pilot -2 – Profit is a prestigious event that brings together the brightest minds and most innovative organizations in the Climate Tech industry. It serves as a platform for showcasing groundbreaking ideas, revolutionary solutions, and disruptive innovations that have the potential to shape the future of the industry. You’ll receive the opportunity to pilot your technology, receive training on customer engagement, get a chance to pitch to cleantech Venture Capitalists, bid on jobs through a reverse pitch contest, network with over 50 African American cleantech founders, and attend GPV’s Annual Convention – The ACRRE Initiative.

The SCALEUP 2023 FOA seeks to scale the most promising technologies previously funded by ARPA-E. The stranding of promising ARPA-E-funded technologies in their development pathways leaves substantial intellectual property developed with American taxpayer dollars vulnerable to adoption by foreign competitors, who can and do capture it for continued development – and economic benefit – overseas. This harms national competitiveness, as U.S. industries often lose the lead on the development, scaling, and manufacturing of technologies necessary to compete in rapidly evolving global energy markets. Thus, projects selected for SCALEUP 2023 will meet ARPA-E’s statutory direction to achieve the above goals by “accelerating transformational technological advances in areas that industry by itself is not likely to undertake because of technical and financial uncertainty”.

NYSERDA’s various programs (such as residential, commercial, transportation, environmental) outline broad energy and environmental challenges, and then publicly request proposals, from any private or institutional entity, to submit project plans addressing those issues.

We partner with visionary founders to build companies that help resource-intensive industries reach their productivity & climate targets. We provide critical early-stage support beyond the investment, and support our founders to pilot, demonstrate and scale their solutions. Our world-class ecosystem gives our startups a head start to reduce commercialization timelines and find the right solution – market fit. 

This 4-week Cleantech Propelus I-Corps program will be a collaboration between the Cleantech Open Northeast and the Northeast I-Corps Hub. Together, we support research teams and aspiring startups with cleantech innovations to advance those technologies forward so we can solve our greatest environmental and energy challenges. This four-session program helps researchers explore the customer perspective to inform how a clean technology discovery or innovation can become the basis of a successful startup or venture.

Climate Collider is a four-week startup exchange program bringing together Swiss and American startups working on global solutions to climate change. Launched in partnership with Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse, the program aims to build a transatlantic startup community and foster international collaboration in climate innovation.

The US Department of Energy, the Israel Ministry of Energy, jointly with the Israel Innovation Authority and the BIRD Foundation invite you to apply for grant funding through BIRD Energy. This program develops innovation through US-Israel cooperation on a range of clean energy technologies, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, natural gas, and energy-water technologies. To be considered, a project proposal should include:

• R&D cooperation between two companies or between a company and university/research institution (one from the US and one from Israel).
• Innovation in all areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency
• Innovation that scales up carbon-free technologies and reduces carbon emissions
• Significant commercial potential; the project outcome should lead to commercialization.

This 6-week intensive program prepares startups for the partnerships and investment necessary to launch their venture. We are partnering with entrepreneurship hub TechTown Detroit to deliver this programming, which aims to help entrepreneurs bridge the gap between customer discovery and commercial launch. We’ve refined our process to help deep-tech companies over the last 27 years and bring this focused opportunity with support of the Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC) Prize from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT).

The mHUB EnergyTech Startup Pitch Competition will showcase cutting-edge hardtech startups specializing in climate and energy technologies. This pitch competition, taking place virtually on June 27, 2023, is designed to support under-represented women founders and entrepreneurs of color. Startups focused on innovative climate tech and energy technologies can apply to pitch virtually to a group of esteemed judges for cash awards totaling $8,500 and connections to industry decision-makers and investors interested in hardtech.

• 1st Place Prize: $5,000
• 2nd Place Prize: $2,500
• 3rd Place Prize: $1,000