USDA to Fund 8 Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3,192,989 in total funding for eight small businesses to further develop and commercialize technologies to protect public health and the environment. The funded technologies are focused on clean and safe water, air quality monitoring, land revitalization, and sustainable materials management.

Today’s awardees include Boulder, Colorado-based AquaRealTime, Inc., which will receive $396,192 to develop a sensor technology that can be deployed by a non-specialist in 30 minutes for early detection and monitoring of harmful algal blooms in surface waters.

“Small businesses are building a better future for our country through their innovative technologies,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “I congratulate the small businesses who are receiving this funding. Your work is essential to helping us achieve our goal of creating healthy, clean, and safe environments for all Americans.”

These eight small businesses are receiving up to $400,000 in Phase II funding from EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. These companies were previously awarded SBIR Phase I funding of up to $100,000 for “proof of concept” of their innovative environmental technologies and are now receiving Phase II funding to further advance and commercialize the technology.

In addition to AquaRealTime, this year’s SBIR Phase II recipients include:

Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Mass., is developing an ethylene-oxide monitor with an ultra-low limit of detection that can be used for air monitoring to assess public health risks.

Capro-X, Inc., Ithaca, N.Y., is developing a fermentation process, called WheyAway, that converts lactose-containing dairy industry process streams into treated water and a mixture of valuable fatty acid chemicals to decrease the expense and environmental impact associated with Greek yogurt production.

Hedin Environmental, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., is creating an innovative, lower-cost carbonation process to treat acidic, metal-contaminated mine water that can be used by mining companies and those working to restore areas around abandoned mines.

Lucendi, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., is building a portable, automated platform for microplastic identification and characterization which will improve the ability to monitor and assess the impact of microplastic pollution on water quality.

NanoAffix Science, LLC, Wauwatosa, Wis., is creating a handheld device for real-time, onsite detection of sulfur dioxide, an air pollutant which can adversely affect respiratory and cardiovascular health in people.

RemWell, LLC, Potsdam, N.Y., is creating a remediation technology that uses high frequency ultrasound to clean up groundwater contaminated by PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and human body and are believed to lead to adverse health effects.

Triangle Environmental Health Initiative, LLC, Durham, N.C., is designing a technology that can be added to septic systems to remove and recover nutrients thereby reducing the impact these nutrients would have on the surrounding environment.