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DOE Opens $10 Million SBIR/STTR Phase I Funding Opportunity

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DOE Opens $10 Million SBIR/STTR Phase I Funding Opportunity

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Commercialization has opened a new $10 million Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase I funding opportunity. If you are running a small business building technology that lines up with DOE’s Genesis Mission, they want to see your pitch.

Approximately 40 Phase I awards
Four Genesis Mission topic areas

This is the opening act for this year’s DOE SBIR/STTR Phase I opportunities, with additional technology topics expected later this fall. Through the Genesis Mission opportunity, DOE anticipates granting roughly 40 Phase I awards spread across four areas:

  • Biotechnology
  • Quantum computing and networking
  • Advanced materials
  • AI-driven autonomous laboratories

If your work sits in any of those lanes, this is worth a serious look. Phase I is where a federal research relationship starts, and the four topics above read like a map of where DOE expects the next decade of discovery to come from.

Alongside Phase I, DOE is also opening approximately $147 million in SBIR/STTR Phase II funding, supporting eligible small businesses as they carry technologies further toward commercialization, Read the full announcement for more

Join Us at America’s Seed Fund Summit

America's Seed Fund Summit, July 2026

Planning to pursue DOE SBIR/STTR funding? You can talk with the DOE team directly during the SBA America’s Seed Fund Summit “Meet the Program Directors” session on Wednesday, July 29, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET.

The session is free and virtual. Bring your questions about the SBIR/STTR programs, hear what the program directors are actually looking for, and get a clearer picture of what these funding opportunities can do for a small business.

Pitches and applications run through the DOE SBIR/STTR Application Hub, and you can find registration requirements and applicant support on the DOE SBIR/STTR program page. Get your federal registrations squared away early — they take longer than you think, and they are the first thing standing between you and a submitted pitch.