A total of $3 million was awarded nationwide, with four of the nine awardees in California
June 3, 2020 – Los Angeles, CA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3 million in funding for nine small businesses across the country to further develop and commercialize technologies to protect the environment. The funded technologies are focused on clean and safe water, air quality monitoring, land revitalization, sustainable materials management, and safer chemicals. Intellisense Systems, a small business in Torrance, Calif., will receive $300,000 to focus on the development of sensors to track wildfire air pollutants.
“We must meet our country’s most pressing environmental concerns with innovative solutions,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “The funding provided by EPA will allow these small businesses to pursue solutions to environmental challenges, including removing PFAS from water and soil and monitoring air quality during wildfires.”
“Intellisense provides a great example of a small business working to provide valuable field data during wildfires,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud. “We look forward to seeing the innovative products and solutions this company develops, and we welcome the contribution to keep our firefighters and communities safe in California and across the nation.”
Intellisense Systems, Inc., and the other award-winning small businesses are each receiving Phase II funding of up to $300,000 from EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Phase II companies that obtain qualifying third-party investments are also eligible for a commercialization option which provides an additional $100,000. Each of these award-winning companies were previously awarded a Phase I contract of $100,000 to develop innovative environmental technologies and are now receiving a Phase II award to further advance and commercialize the technology.
Intellisense of Torrance, Calif., is developing a sensing device to measure and track wildland fire air pollutants in a small, solar-powered unit capable of storing and reporting data from remote locations. The portable unit does not require hardline power and enables the user to deploy a robust network of air-quality sensors rapidly and at low cost.
“Persistent air-quality monitoring has become more urgent and important as the incidence of wildfires continue to increase near populated areas,” said Frank Willis, CEO of Intellisense Systems. “We appreciate the financial commitment from the EPA, through the SBIR program, to further this technology development and bridge this gap in the current pollutant monitoring ecosystem.”
The EPA’s SBIR funding promotes local economies by empowering small businesses across the country to create jobs while developing novel environmental technologies. Phase II funding is specifically aimed at helping these companies to bring their technologies to the marketplace. Since 1982, the EPA’s SBIR program has provided over $189 million to 635 small businesses to develop technologies to solve the most pressing environmental problems. Approximately 29% of funded projects reported a growth in sales that exceeded five times the initial EPA funding.
EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participate in the SBIR program, a competitive award-based program that supports small businesses to explore technological solutions with the ultimate goal of successful commercialization of those innovations. This program stimulates the economy while meeting the country’s research and development needs.
For more information on EPA’s SBIR Phase II recipients, visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/665/records_per_page/ALL
Learn more about the EPA’s SBIR program: https://www.epa.gov/sbir
Learn more about the Federal SBIR Program: www.SBIR.gov
Learn more about the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with them on Facebook and on Twitter.