SBIR Success Stories & News
SBIR Success Stories
SBIR Awardee to Receive EPA Administrator’s Award
At the May 8, 2025 prestigious 35th Annual EPA Administrator’s Small Business Award Ceremony, EPA SBIR awardee Aquagga, Inc, will be recognized with the Administrator’s Award for Outstanding Accomplishments by a small business for the development of a technology that enables safe and effective remediation of PFAS-contaminated sites. With the support of EPA's SBIR program, Aquagga, Inc. is successfully addressing high priority issues of importance to EPA while also protecting human health, the environment and contributing to the economy by fostering economic growth through the commercialization of this innovation. Since 1982, EPA's SBIR program (Small Business Development Act of 1982, SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022) has supported small American businesses with over 1700 awards to more than 330 industry-sponsored projects in 49 or the 50 states. The program stimulates economic development and job growth and results in tangible improvements to the environment through the development of new products, approaches, and technologies.
SBIR Small Business’s Technology for Methane Detection Approved by EPA
Bridger Photonics, an EPA SBIR small business based in Montana, has had their aerial methane detection technology approved for regulatory use by the EPA. On January 14th, 2025, Bridger Photonics was approved to provide “methane detection scans at all detection sensitivity/site scan frequency levels of the EPA’s scan matrix”. This technology can be used by oil and gas operators looking to reduce their fugitive methane emissions and meet the regulatory requirements for emissions scans. Bridger Photonics last received an EPA SBIR Phase I Award to develop a drone-based Gas Mapping LiDAR™ sensor to aid in mitigating the loss of valuable products across the Oil & Gas supply chain. EPA’s SBIR program funds small businesses across the country to develop and commercialize innovative environmental technologies to help advance Administration goals for clean air, water and land.
EPA SBIR Company Reaches Milestone for Material Tracing
Veriflux, an EPA SBIR company from Washington D.C., has traced their 1 billionth pound of renewable low-carbon intensity feedstock. Their success was recently featured in Biobased Diesel Daily, highlighting the company’s achievements. To date, Veriflux has traced renewable feedstocks from numerous points of origin, through supply chains incorporating nearly 850 companies across more than 20 countries. Veriflux was awarded an EPA SBIR Phase I award in 2021, for their traceability application while it was still in beta.
EPA SBIR Small Business Receives $1M in Funding to Advance Improvements in Membrane Treatment of Water
Pure Blue Tech, a Seattle based EPA SBIR funded small business has announced they have raised $1M in Later Stage VC funding, led by Rockies Venture Club, a non-profit angel investing group. Pure Blue Tech’s EPA SBIR Project was focused on utilizing ultrasound generated by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) transducers to reduce membrane fouling, effectively lowering the cost of reverse osmosis treatment through enhanced efficiency, reduced chemical cleaning, and reduced waste volume.
EPA SBIR Small Business Highlighted by the Chamber of Commerce
Florida-based EPA SBIR Small Business, GreenTechnologies, was selected as one of the Top 100 Small Businesses by the Chamber of Commerce out of over 14,000 applicants. The list by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which comes out annually, strives to recognize 100 of the best small and mid-sized businesses throughout America, marked by their contributions in “innovation, growth, and ingenuity” both locally as well as globally. GreenTechnologies’s most recent EPA SBIR project was focused on developing their (now patented) GreenEdge fertilizer, which fosters soil health, water efficiency, in additon to carbon sequestration.
Multiple EPA SBIR Small Business Founders Featured in Forbes 30 Under 30
As Forbes released their annual Forbes 30 Under 30 series highlighting young entrepreneurs and industry changers for 2024, three EPA SBIR small businesses were featured. Both Hydrova and Valis Insights’ co-founders were highlighted in the Manufacturing and Industry category. Hydrova’s project was focused on solutions to help improve the cost efficiency and sustainability of aluminum recycling. Valis Insight’s current project is devoted to creating software tools to achieve maximum efficiency for the entire recycling value chain from point of collection, to processing, to melting. The founder of Aquagga was also featured on the list within the Energy category. Aquagga’s project is focused on permanently destroying PFAS, mainly through a mobile hydrothermal alkaline treatment service, and the company previously took home the first prize in the EPA’s Destroy PFAS Challenge.
SBIR News
EPA Awards Nearly $2.2M to Small Businesses to Advance Innovative Environmental Technologies (December 2023)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $2,198,867 in research funding to 22 small businesses to develop technologies that will help protect human health and the environment. The 22 small businesses will use EPA funding to develop their novel projects, including an AI-based mapping tool to support first responders during disasters, a reactor to remove PFAS from sewage waste, and a self-cleaning indoor air purification system for use during wildfires.
EPA Awards Nearly $3.2M to Small Businesses to Research Complex Environmental Issues and Help Grow the Green Economy (November 2023)
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3,196,530 in research funding to eight small businesses to further develop and commercialize their environmental technologies. Recipients of this year's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding include companies developing a nature-based treatment for graywater reuse, a system to remotely sense fugitive methane emissions in abandoned wells, field-deployable devices to rapidly screen drinking water for PFAS, and more.
Supporting Innovative Water Reuse Technologies Through SBIR (October 2023)
Five EPA SBIR-funded small businesses are developing innovative technologies to treat and reuse water.
Food Scraps to Fuel: EPA-Funded Technology Successfully Traces Renewable Fuel Supply Chain in New York City (July 2023)
Veriflux is an EPA-funded end-to-end technology platform that provides data and tracking to address these issues and improve renewable fuel feedstock traceability. In 2022, Veriflux completed a first-of-its-kind pilot program to trace solid and liquid food waste through New York City’s waste-to-energy supply chain
EPA SBIR Supports Small Businesses Develop Technology to Test and Treat PFAS (April 2023)
Eight EPA SBIR-funded small businesses are developing innovative technologies to monitor, treat and destroy PFAS.
EPA's SBIR Supports Technology to Improve Recycling (March 2023)
Six EPA SBIR-funded small businesses are developing innovative technologies to improve the recycling system.
EPA's SBIR Circular Economy Projects Reduce Waste and Slow Climate Change (February 2023)
Six EPA SBIR-funded small businesses are seeking to optimize sustainable materials management technologies to promote the circular economy.
EPA Awards Research Funding to 25 Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies (December 2022)
EPA announced over $2.4 million in SBIR Phase I research funding for 25 small businesses to develop technologies that address some of the most pressing environmental problems.
EPA Awards More Than $3M to Small Businesses for Continued Development of Innovative Environmental Technologies (October 2022)
EPA announced over $3.1 million in SBIR Phase II funding to eight small businesses to further develop and commercialize their innovative environmental technologies.