The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science published the Fiscal Year 2016 Phase I, Release 1 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) on August 17, 2015, for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs. Under DE-FOA-0001366, whose complete listing of technical topics was released on July 20, DOE seeks applicants for grants directed toward FY16 Phase I projects. Topics for this funding opportunity can be found at http://science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities and include LED and OLED lighting (see topic 7).

Please note a number of new administrative changes to the application process, which are fully described in the FOA and primarily relate to commercialization assistance, allowable patent filing costs, and provision of supporting budget proposal documentation. Two different webinars to review the SBIR/STTR programs, application, and award process as it relates to this announcement are tentatively scheduled for August 21 and August 28, although those dates could change; interested parties should check http://science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities for finalized dates and registration links.

Qualified small businesses with strong research capabilities in science or engineering in any of the research areas sought in the announcement are encouraged to apply for the SBIR/STTR funding opportunity. Applicants must submit a letter of intent by September 8, 2015, in order to be eligible to submit a full application by October 19. More information and application requirements can be found at http://science.energy.gov/sbir/funding-opportunities.