DEPARTMENT
OF ENERGY
SMALL
BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
AND
SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM
FY 2007 PHASE II AWARDS
TOPIC:
RESEARCH TO SUPPORT PROLIFERATION DETECTION
STTR Project
Aerodyne Research, Inc. Broadly Tunable Quantum Cascade
45 Manning Road Laser Technology for Remote
Billerica, MA 01821-3976
There is a need for improved, widely tunable laser light sources in the mid-infrared for sensing airborne chemicals. We are developing such a laser source, that tunes widely and has high power, and with many sensing applications in medicine, industry, the military and environmental science.
Daylight Solutions, Inc.
Tunable Infrared Quantum Cascade
13029 Danielson Street
Lasers for Active Electro-Optical
This
project will design and build a high power, tunable, mid-infrared laser based on
quantum cascade materials. Miniaturized and field-ready, the laser should find
application in the detection of airborne chemicals and diagnostic imaging.
Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
New Bright High Resolution
44 Hunt Street
Scintillators
Watertown, MA
02472
This
project will investigate a promising nuclear detector material to enhance
scientific studies, medical imaging, homeland defense, nuclear
non-proliferation, oil exploration, a wide range of industrial applications.
Technical Research Associates, Inc.
Tools for Full Spectrum Analysis of
3602 Woodlawn Drive
Hyperspectral Data
Honolulu, HI
96822
Global
trends have heightened the need for remote detection of weapons of mass
destruction. This project will develop software tools to support airborne and
spaceborne hyperspectral sensors for increased U.S. detection capabilities.
TOPIC:
RESEARCH TO SUPPORT NUCLEAR EXPLOSION MONITORING
Mainstream Engineering Corporation
Nanostructured Composites for
200 Yellow Place
Space-Bound Housings
Rockledge, FL
32955
This
project will develop nanostructured composites having material properties of
metal with 40% less weight. These
composites should increase the ease of deployment and maneuverability of
satellites while decreasing aircraft weight and fuel consumption.
TOPIC:
CRYOGENIC TECHNOLOGY FOR SUPERCONDUCTORS
Clever Fellows Innovation
Cost-Effective Acoustic-Stirling
Consortium,
Inc.
Cryocooler with Flexibly Attached
302 Tenth Street
Remote Coldhead
Troy, NY
12180
Practical
cryogenic refrigeration is needed to realize benefits of high-temperature
superconductivity in electrical transmission lines, transformers, and other
equipment. This project will deliver advanced acoustic-Stirling cryocoolers,
with a novel, remote Coldfinger, for large-capacity cryocooling required for
electric grid use.
Infinia Corporation
Large Capacity, Multi-Cylinder
6811 W. Okanogan Place
Cryocooler for High Temperature
Kennewick, WA
99336-1743
Superconductor (HTS) Applications
This
project will design, build, and test a multi-cylinder free-piston Stirling
cryocooler, for high-temperature superconductor applications.
TOPIC:
ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION TECHNOLOGIES
EnerNex Corporation
Distribution System State Estimation
170C Market
Place Boulevard
Knoxville,
TN 37922-2337
This
project will develop a software product to enhance prediction and management of
the behavior of electric utility distribution systems.
This enhancement should lead to increased energy savings and power system
reliability. Added value includes
support for large data sets, and utility customizations.
FieldMetrics Inc.
A Low-Cost Modular Optical Voltage
13352 82nd Avenue
Sensor for Power Transmission
Seminole, FL
33776-3126
Applications
This
project will develop a modular voltage sensor system that offers high accuracy,
low cost, environmentally friendly voltage measurement of power grid
infrastructure. An integrated power
supply allows the inclusion of specialty sensing needs within a single package
that can exploit recent advances in broadband communications for critical power
line measurements in real time.
TOPIC:
DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING OF FACILITIES IN THE DOE COMPLEX
AJJER, LLC
High Sensitivity, Low Cost
4541 East Fort Lowell Road
Fluorescence Detection for Beryllium
Tucson, AZ
85712-1108
Particulates
This
project will develop and demonstrate an automated, low cost, high sensitivity
beryllium particle detection system to improve work place safety.
Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
Low-Cost SSPM-Based Digital
44 Hunt Street
Radiation Monitor
Watertown, MA
02472
The
solid-state photomultiplier-based (SSPM) detector is the basis for a new
generation of low-cost nuclear sensors. This project will develop SSPM
technology for an improved, high sensitivity detector for monitoring radiation
and for performing nuclear, high energy, and atomic physics experiments.
TOPIC: MEASUREMENT/MONITORING AND CHARACTERIZATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE
SUBSURFACE ENVIRONMENT
Akonni Biosystems, Inc.
Field Portable Gel Element Arrays
9702 Woodfield Court
for Microbial Community Profiling in
New Market, MD
21774
Subsurface Sediments and Groundwater
This
project will develop an environmental diagnostic test and field portable,
push-button device that will enable users to detect and monitor entire bacterial
communities in groundwater and sediments. The technology should find application
in environmental cleanup; wastewater and water quality analysis; food safety;
and biodefense.
STTR Project
Burge Environmental, Inc.
6100 South Maple
Avenue
Suite 114
Tempe, AZ 85283-2872
This
project will develop a field-deployable monitoring system for cost-effective and
rapid characterization of radioactive substances in the groundwater at federal
sites, such as the Hanford Nuclear Site in
STTR Project
Vista Engineering Technologies, LLC
Imaging the Stratigraphy Around a
8203 W. Quinault
Using a Combined ERT and
Bldg. C, Suite 200
Kenewick, WA 99336
This project will develop a cost-effective, remote sensing approach for analyzing subsurface layering around boreholes to enhance groundwater removal. The enhanced data collection should allow for increased speed and effectiveness of groundwater clean-up as well as significant cost savings.
TOPIC:
GENOMES TO LIFE AND RELATED BIOTECHNOLOGIES
Genomatica, Inc.
An Experimental/Computational
5405 Morehouse Drive
Platform for the Analysis of
Suite 210
Metabolite Profile Data
San Diego, CA
92121
This
project will develop a software platform for the development of computer models
for simulating bacterial metabolism. These models are valuable tools for
improving our understanding of energy-related biological processes, and
harnessing the metabolic potential of organisms to address issues of energy
production, carbon fixation, and bioremediation.
Nanobiosym, Inc.
Commercial High Resolution Optical
200 Boston Avenue
Tweezers Packages for Single
Suite 4700
Medford, MA
02155
This
project will commercialize advanced optical tweezers technology, utilizing laser
light to manipulate and/or characterize the behavior of tiny particles and
biomolecules, such as single molecules of DNA.
TOPIC:
ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY
Aerodyne Research, Inc.
CAPS-Based Particle Single
45 Manning Road
Scattering Albedo Monitor
Billerica, MA
01821-3976
The
impact of ambient atmospheric aerosols generated through human activities is
comparable in magnitude with the impact of greenhouse gases, such as carbon
dioxide and methane. This project will develop a device that allows for routine
measurement of critical optical properties of such aerosols, for improved
predictions of climate change.
Physical Sciences Inc.
Field-Worthy UV Backscatter Lidar
20 New England Business Center
for Cirrus Studies
Andover, MA
01810-1077
Policy
decisions relating to climate change are based in part on predictions derived
from computational models. The
knowledge base for cirrus clouds is presently insufficient to meet the needs of
these models. This project will
develop a sensor for accurate measurement of the occurrence of cirrus clouds.
TOPIC:
MEDICAL SCIENCES
Lynntech, Inc.
Implantable Biofuel Cell
7607 Eastmark Drive, Suite 102
College Station, TX
77840
Implantable
medical devices offer tremendous benefit, however the devices are restricted by
the size, lifetime, and capabilities of the required power system. Biofuel cells
can operate on biofuel contained within the human blood stream and can reduce or
eliminate the need for additional surgeries required for battery replacement.
Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
Novel, Needle-Shaped Scintillator
44 Hunt Street
for Emission Transmission Tomography
Watertown, MA
02472
Scintillator
developments ensuing from this project should allow full exploitation of
X-ray/gamma-ray imaging used in airport, seaport and border surveillance, in
medicine, and in small animal research supporting the discovery of important new
drugs.
Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
An Efficient, Solid State Detector
44 Hunt Street
for Nuclear Medicine
Watertown, MA
02472
This
research will investigate a promising solid state, nuclear detector material
with high efficiency, high signal-to-noise ratio, and the possibility of
excellent energy resolution. Applications
include nuclear medicine, particle physics, homeland defense, oil exploration,
industrial imaging, and nuclear remediation.
TOPIC:
CARBON CYCLE MEASUREMENTS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE BIOSPHERE
Los Gatos Research
Lightweight, High-Precision
67 East Evelyn Avenue
Instrument for Balloon Sonde CO2
Suite 3
Measurements
Mountain View, CA
94041
This
project will develop a rugged, yet inexpensive instrument to measure carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere with unprecedented precision. Small enough for
transport onboard balloon sondes, the instrument may be used for detailed
studies to determine the sources and sinks of carbon in the environment.
NovaWave Technologies, Inc.
Real-Time Infrared Greenhouse Gas
900 Island Drive
Sensor
Suite 101
Redwood City, CA
94065-5150
This
project will develop compact, low-cost, and highly reliable trace gas sensors.
These sensors are required for improving our understanding of global climate
change, for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, and for a variety of industrial
process control applications.
TOPIC:
CAPTURE AND SEQUESTRATION OF CARBON
AIL Research, Inc.
A Low-Energy Low-Cost Process for
P.O. Box 3662 Stripping Carbon Dioxide from
Princeton, NJ
08543
Absorbents
This
project will develop cost-effective CO2 scrubbers, to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel power plants that produce a
significant amount of U.S. electricity. As
an additional benefit, the recovered CO2 can be used to reclaim
“stranded” oil reserves, and thus extend national oil resources.
Los Gatos Research
Field-Deployable Gas Analyzer for
67 East Evelyn Avenue
MMV Applications
Suite 3
Mountain View, CA
94041
This
project will develop an ultrasensitive analyzer to help validate and refine
current schemes to remove carbon from the atmosphere. This instrument will be
critical in determining if sequestered carbon is leaking back into the
atmosphere or displacing other, potentially more harmful greenhouse gases.
Physical Optics Corporation
Early Remote Risk Assessment Survey
20600 Gramercy Place, Building 100
Technology
Torrance, CA
90501-1821
This
project will develop a powerful tool for increasing the efficiency and reducing
the cost and risk of geologic carbon dioxide sequestration, a nationally
legislated option for limiting climate change.
TOPIC:
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS AND CONTROLS FOR FOSSIL ENERGY
FACILITIES
CyboSoft, General Cybernation
Group, Inc.
Intelligent Control of Advanced
2868 Prospect Park Drive
Power Generation Systems Using
Suite 300
Model-Free Adaptive Control
Rancho Cordova, CA
95670-6065
Technology
This
project will develop an intelligent control system for boilers in future energy
plants that can deliver maximum energy efficiency, fuel flexibility, and
near-zero emissions. On a broader scale, this technology could represent a major
breakthrough for the combustion industry.
Lynntech, Inc.
Efficient Treatment of Toxic Metal
7607 Eastmark Drive, Suite 102
Contaminated Wet Scrubber Wastewater
College Station, TX
77840
from Coal-Fired Power Plants
Mercury
is a significant environmental concern because of its toxicity, persistence in
the environment, and ability to bioaccumulate in the food chain.
This project will develop technology for protecting U.S. water supplies
from contamination by mercury in wastewater from coal-fired electric power
plants.
TOPIC:
SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL (SOFC) BALANCE-OF-PLANT (BOP)
Acumentrics Corporation
Hybrid Ceramic/Metallic Recuperator
20 Southwest Park
for SOFC Generators
Westwood, MA 02090
Widespread
use of efficient fuel cell power systems would reduce energy consumption and
hazardous air emissions that lead to global warming. This project will develop a
high efficiency, low cost heat exchanger to enhance the effectiveness and
viability of fuel cell power systems.
TOPIC:
COAL GASIFICATION AND COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGIES
Eltron Research Inc.
Novel Supports and Materials for
4600 Nautilus Court South
Oxygen Separation and Supply
Boulder, CO 80301-3241
This
project will develop a cost-effective method for capturing oxygen for use in
coal gasification and related processes with reduced emissions of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases.
Inframat Corporation
Novel Surface Modification Method
74 Batterson Park Road
for Ultrasupercritical Coal-Fired
Farmington, CT 06032-2597
Boilers
This project will develop a new technique that should enable power plants to increase efficiencies from 35% to 55% and reduce emissions of CO2, SO2 and NOx gases by 30%. This new technique and associated nanomaterials system should find application for coal-fired boilers and gasification systems as well as critical industry components involved in oxidation and corrosion at elevated temperatures.
STTR Project
TDA Research, Inc. H2 Separation Membranes
12345 W. 52nd Ave.
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033-1916
This
project will develop a new material for cost effective production of hydrogen
used in efficient, non-polluting power
generation.