News Releases from Region 03

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

Delaware Firm to Test Novel Technology for Remediating PFAS in Water

Contact Information: US EPA (R3press@epa.gov)

PHILADELPHIA, July 19, 2019 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has 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.

“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.”

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.

framergy Inc., of Wilmington, Delaware, is one of the 21 recipients of EPA’s research funding. framergy, in collaboration with Texas A&M University, will develop a novel water pretreatment system which combines the use of a cutting-edge nanostructured sorbent for effective removal of per- and polyfluoralkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS. At the heart of the technology is its innovative, chemically stable, metal organic frameworks.

“Our company’s SBIR-funded titanium metal organic frameworks have proven to not only capture PFAS in water systems, but to break them down into safer substances with the help of the sun,” said framergy’s Chief Operating Officer Ray Ozdemir.

EPA’s SBIR funding supports both the economy and the environment by creating jobs and promoting small businesses to bring environmental technologies to market. For instance, one EPA SBIR small business, GreenTechnologies, LLC, is commercializing a sustainable and innovative treatment and nutrient recovery process for wastewater. Their processes recover nutrients such as phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen in wastewater and convert the excess nutrients into sustainable slow-release fertilizers, branded under the name GreenEdge®, which are being sold commercially throughout the country and internationally.

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.

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