The U.S. Department of Energy offers SBIR and STTR funding through more than 60 topics and 250 subtopics, spanning research areas that support the DOE’s mission in Energy Production, Energy Use, Fundamental Energy Sciences, Environmental Management, and Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Given the wide variety of topics and subtopics, it is essential that applicants find an opportunity that truly aligns with their idea and/or project rather than trying to force their interests into the topic parameters.  Proposals are reviewed by technical experts who are familiar with the topics, subtopics, and aims of the sponsoring agencies and they are likely to quickly reject applications that are not a good fit.  Please see https://science.osti.gov/sbir/Funding-Opportunities for announcements and release dates of DOE topics.   

In addition to carefully reading the topic and subtopic announcements, as well as the Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), applicants should also read any literature or referenced cited in the topic descriptions to gain a deeper understanding of the topic and Agency’s interest.   

Topics are generally released in July and November, with the November release including topics from a larger set of Research Programs.  

 DOE topics documents include a table of contents, as pictured at the right, so that potential applicants can easily find information concerning topics that may align with their research interest and expertise. However, as topic release documents are quite lengthy, it is important to begin reviewing them early so that there is sufficient time to determine if there is a match between the applicant’s research and business ideas and DOE needs.   

In addition to the table of contents outlining the releases and participating offices, the topics document will also include a schedule for the release of the related FOA, the application due date, and other pertinent dates, also pictured at right.  Pay close attention to this schedule and locate the FOA as soon as it is released.  FOAs may be found by visiting Grants.gov and searching by keyword and agency.