U.S. Commerce Department Gives Small Businesses $3.2M for Innovation Research

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The U.S. Commerce Department today announced that 20 small businesses will receive $3.2 million in grants to spur American innovation and competiveness through federally funded research and development from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The businesses, which range in size from one to 24 employees, will receive Phase I or Phase II funding through NIST’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The awardees are from 15 states and were competitively selected from proposals submitted in response to calls for innovative products to solve specific technology challenges in advanced manufacturing, climate change and clean energy, cyber-physical systems, health care, cybersecurity and technology transfer.

“As ‘America’s Innovation Agency,’ the Commerce Department is committed to supporting the innovators and job creators of tomorrow as they turn big ideas into thriving businesses,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. “The grants being awarded today will support entrepreneurs in their efforts to create solutions to pressing challenges in high-growth industries, and in doing so, will help the American economy forward.”

“Small and young firms are the source of most innovation in our economy and are the backbone of our domestic supply chains,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Willie E. May. “These awards will help these companies to develop new technologies that solve real technical challenges that could lead to innovative products and markets.”