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News Releases from Region 06

Stillwater, Okla., Company Among Recipients of EPA Funding for Small Companies

$1.8 million distributed nationwide to develop environmental technologies

03/13/2018
Contact Information: 
Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard (R6Press@epa.gov)
214 665-2200

DALLAS – (March 13, 2018) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $1.8 million in funding for six small businesses to develop technologies that provide solutions for environmental issues. XploSafe of Stillwater, Okla., will receive $300,000 for their work to scale up and demonstrate a technology that recovers nutrients from wastewater to reuse as fertilizer.

“Small businesses are not only essential to the American economy, but they also produce some of our best, cutting-edge technologies,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “Through this funding, these companies will create jobs and create value in the marketplace, all while developing innovations that protect the environment and human health.”

“Our nation’s small businesses create big ideas and world-changing products,” said Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “Companies like XploSafe are using innovative techniques to turn environmental problems into solutions that will benefit our economy and public health.”

How it works:

The six companies being announced today are receiving Phase II contracts from EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which awards contracts annually through a two-phase competition.

Companies compete for a Phase I award of $100,000 by submitting research that addresses key environmental issues. After receiving a Phase I award, companies are eligible to compete for a Phase II award of $300,000 to further develop and commercialize the technology. The recipients of these Phase II awards will now work to bring their products to market.

SBIR Phase II recipients include:

  • TIAX, LLC, Lexington, Mass., to develop a technology that simultaneously treats and decontaminates chemical and radiological hazards for homeland security applications.
  • XploSafe, Stillwater, Okla., to scale up and demonstrate a technology that recovers nutrients from wastewater and then reuses those nutrients as fertilizer.
  • Renuvix, LLC, Fargo, N.D., to further develop their high-performance resin coating which has significantly lower levels of air pollutants than current technology.
  • Microvi Biotech, Inc., Hayward, Calif., to develop their ProviTM technology that treats nutrients in wastewater and recovers phosphorus as a valuable by-product.
  • Hi-Z Technology, Inc., San Diego, Calif., to further research and develop their Power Stove, a thermoelectric cookstove that provides a clean cooking solution, as well as a reliable energy source.
  • ASAT, Inc., Cottage Grove, Ore., to commercialize a clean-burning, biomass-fueled, integrated stove that can be used for cooking, heating, and as a source of power.

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program. Enacted in 1982, the SBIR program was developed to strengthen the role of small businesses in federal research and development, create jobs, and promote U.S. technologies. To be eligible to participate in the SBIR program, a company must be an organized, for-profit U.S. business and have fewer than 500 employees.

For more information on EPA’s SBIR Phase II recipients, visit https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/638/records_per_page/ALL

Learn more about EPA’s SBIR program at www.epa.gov/sbir.

Learn more about the Federal SBIR program at www.SBIR.gov

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