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.
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
Washington based EPA SBIR business, Aquagga, has developed a solution for PFAS destruction. This hydrothermal alkaline treatment (HALT) process has proven effective in breaking down various types of PFAS, including short-chain and ultra-short-chain compounds which is important for industrial wastewater producers. Aquagga secured an EPA SBIR Phase I award in 2021, allowing them to demonstrate HALT’s effectiveness in destroying over 99% of PFAS in wastewater streams, and this eventually lead to an EPA SBIR Phase II award in 2022.
Two EPA SBIR small businesses, PKS Consulting (PKS) and Kamilo, have collaborated on a project prioritizing a circular economy by converting waste materials into a valuable resource. PKS manufactures Grizzly Wood, a high-performance recycled plastic lumber product composed of discarded oilfield thread protectors and other plastic ocean waste. Kamilo supports PKS's work by providing a patented geospatial traceability platform that enables end-to-end tracking of these recovered materials. The project utilizes the durable GrizzlyWood to create sustainable paths in parks, as well as benches and picnic tables, bringing both positive environmental impacts as well as tangible economic benefits.
2024-2025 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I Awardees Announced (January 2025)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $2.4M in research funding to 24 small businesses to develop their innovative environmental technologies.
2024-2025 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Awardees Announced (October 2024)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $2.8M in research funding to seven small businesses to further develop and commercialize their environmental technologies.
Recycled Glass: EPA-Funded Technology Provides a Renewable Alternative to Concrete in New York (September 2024)
An old glass jar, bottle, or container that you've recycled may be making it's way into a sidewalk! NY-based KLAW Industries has used EPA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to develop their innovative technology that uses recycled glass to create concrete. Their lower-emissions cement was recently selected for use in a project in Whitney Point, NY, for sidewalks, curbs, and barriers in the new U.S. Route 11 bridge as well as 1.5 miles of new sidewalks on US Route 1.
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.