News Releases from Region 05

EPA Awards $2.3 Million in Funding for 21 Small Businesses to Develop Innovative Environmental Technologies

Region 5 to receive $300,000 in funding

Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute (arcaute.francisco@epa.gov) 312-886-7613, 312-898-2042 cell

For Immediate Release No. 19-OPA53

CHICAGO (July 18, 2019) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $2.3 million in funding for 21 small businesses to develop technologies that will help protect human health and the environment by monitoring air quality, treating drinking water, cleaning up contaminated sites, and creating greener, less toxic materials. Three small businesses in Region 5 will receive $100,000 each to focus on the development of PFAS remediation technologies and less toxic paint thinners.

“These funds support small businesses that have developed new technologies to monitor air quality, test for PFAS, and address other pressing environmental challenges,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Through EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, we provide important assistance to entrepreneurs as they develop innovative solutions that will strengthen both environmental protections and economic growth.”

“EPA congratulates Claros Technology in Stillwater, Minnesota, Talk About It Solutions in Maple Grove, Minnesota and Faraday Technology Inc. in Ohio for taking the initiative to help protect people and the planet,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp. “We eagerly anticipate seeing the innovative products and solutions that these small businesses develop.”

These 21 small businesses are receiving Phase I contracts from EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which awards contracts annually through a two-phase competition. Companies compete for a Phase I award of up to $100,000 by submitting research that addresses key environmental issues. After receiving a Phase I award, companies are eligible to compete for a Phase II award of up to $300,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology.

Region 5 SBIR Phase I recipients include:

Faraday Technology, Inc., Englewood, Ohio, Electrochemical Pretreatment of PFAS-Contaminated Aqueous Effluents; Electrochemical Extraction and Remediation of PFAS in Soils

Talk About It Solutions DBA Remooble, Maple Grove, Minn., Fast Acting Bio-Derived and Bio-Degradable Paint Removers for Epoxy, Latex and Lacquer Coatings

Claros Technologies Inc., Stillwater, Minn., Novel Sorbent Technology for Simultaneous Removal and Degradation of Waterborne PFAS

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program, enacted in 1982 to strengthen the role of small businesses in federal research and development, create jobs, and promote U.S. technical innovation. To be eligible, a company must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500 employees.

For more information on EPA’s SBIR Phase I recipients, visit https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/641/records_per_page/ALL

Learn more about EPA’s SBIR program at www.epa.gov/sbir and learn about the current open Phase 1 SBIR solicitation, which closes on July 31, at www.epa.gov/sbir/sbir-funding-opportunities.

Learn more about the federal SBIR program at www.SBIR.gov.

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