Research Commercialization Academy (BETA 0.01)

Washington, DC- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that $30 million in funding from the Recovery Act and FY 2010 budget appropriations will be made available to qualified small businesses to support the commercialization of promising new technologies.   Today's funding announcement builds on the Department's existing efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) to develop near-term clean energy technologies and support American small businesses that will play an important role in building the clean energy economy of the future.  This is the first time DOE has offered Phase III awards under these small business programs.

"Small businesses are engines of job creation and innovation, and we need their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to drive a clean energy economy," said Secretary Chu. "By helping America's small businesses bring these innovative technologies to market, we will spur economic growth and help reduce the country's energy use."

Small companies previously awarded Phase II grants through DOE's Small Business Innovation Research program (SBIR) or the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) are eligible.  Projects that include developed technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and impact on U.S. manufacturing and job creation are encouraged to apply.  Successful applicants may receive up to $3 million over 3 years to research, develop and deploy new technologies.

Applications are currently being accepted for the following technology areas of interest:

Lots of discussion these days about the changes in the VC industry.  Here’s my take:

1. The VC industry grew dramatically as a result of the Internet bubble - Before the Internet  bubble the people who invested in VC funds (called LPs or Limited Partners) put about $50 billion into the industry and by 2001 this had grown precipitously to around $250 billion.

2. But VC is an “illiquid asset” so funds didn’t disappear quickly - In 2000/01 the stock market quickly adjusted punishing investors in the NASDAQ and in individual public technology stocks.  Consumers pulled their money out of these risky investments, but when LPs make commitments to VC funds they make 10-year, legally binding commitments. So as of 2008 total LP commitments were still at nearly $250 billion.

Solicitation Number: SBAHQ-10-R-0021
Agency: Small Business Administration
Office: Office of Administration
Location: Office of Procurement and Grants Management

Today, a Request for Information published in the Federal Register asks for input to assist the Federal government in the development of the 2010 Strategic Plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The NNI is a U.S. Government research and development (R&D) program of 25 agencies working together toward the common vision of a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to a revolution in technology and industry that benefits society. The combined, coordinated efforts of these agencies have accelerated discovery, development, and deployment of nanotechnology to help meet the grand challenges now facing the Nation and the world. Established in 2001, the NNI involves nanotechnology-related activities by the 25 member agencies, 15 of which have budgets for nanotechnology R&D for 2011. The proposed NNI budget for Fiscal Year 2011 is $1.76 billion, bringing the cumulative investment since the inception of the NNI in 2001 to nearly $14 billion.