Three Southern California Small Businesses Selected for EPA Funding to Develop Innovative Environmental Technologies
Awards part of $2.5 million provided by EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program nationwide
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $300,000 in grant awards to California-based Hyperion Analytical LLC of Rancho Cucamonga, Intelligence Optical Systems, Inc of Torrance, and Photon Systems, Inc. of Covina, to develop innovative technologies that help support EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment. Hyperion Analytical proposed a lower cost analytical system for measuring hazardous organic compounds (N-nitrosamines) in potable reuse water; Intelligence Optical Systems proposed an integrated sensor system for water treatment performance monitoring; and Photon Systems proposed a sensor for continuous microbial monitoring in water reuse treatment systems.
“Small businesses are confronting important environmental challenges head on with creativity and ingenuity,” said EPA Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, Deborah Jordan. “I congratulate the small businesses from Southern California who are receiving EPA funding today. EPA is proud to support their efforts to develop innovative environmental solutions.”
EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program established by the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982. The small businesses in today’s announcement are receiving Phase I awards of up to $100,000 for six months for “proof of concept” of their proposed technology. Companies that successfully complete Phase I can then submit a proposal for a Phase II award of up to $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology.
EPA runs a yearly, two-phase process for the SBIR awards. Companies who have received the Phase I award can submit a proposal for a Phase II award of $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology. Through this phased approach, EPA can evaluate whether the research idea is feasible; if the firm’s research is high-quality; and if sufficient technical and commercial progress has been made to justify a larger Phase II effort.
To learn more about EPA’s SBIR Phase I winners, please visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/679/records_per_page/ALL.
To learn more about EPA’s SBIR program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/sbir
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