From: U.S. EPA <usaepa@service.govdelivery.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 15, 2014 at 10:05 AM
Subject: News Release:
To: iammejtm@gmail.com
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CONTACTS: Suzanne Skadowski, 415-972-3165, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov (NorCal/Bay Area) Nahal Mogharabi, 213-244-1815, mogharabi.nahal@epa.gov (SoCal/Central Valley) Margot Perez-Sullivan, 415-947-4149, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov (Arizona)
EPA Awards 6 California and Arizona Small Businesses $600,000 in Green Technology Contracts
SAN FRANCISCO – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that SimpleWater LLC of Berkeley, Lucid Design Group Inc. of Oakland, Biopico Systems of Irvine, CLEW of Pasadena, AquaNano LLC of Monrovia, Calif. and HJ3 Composite Technologies of Tucson, Ariz. will receive $600,000 in green technology contracts. The contracts are part of $2 million awarded to 21 small businesses nationwide to advance sustainable and innovative products and processes under EPA's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.
"EPA's small business innovation contracts are growing our region's economy and green technology industry, helping companies like these develop new solutions to some of our biggest environmental challenges," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
SimpleWater LLC of Berkeley, Calif., in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to market a water treatment project using electrochemical arsenic removal technology. The technology is designed to allow small and very small drinking water systems to sustainably and affordably remove arsenic and other contaminants. Arsenic contamination in public drinking water affects as many as 56 million Americans and often requires expensive and energy-intensive treatment.
Lucid Design Group Inc. of Oakland, Calif. received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to develop a software system to encourage behavior-based energy conservation in commercial buildings. Commercial and residential buildings contribute over 70 percent of U.S. electrical load and 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. While electricity used by lighting, water heating, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning are projected to remain relatively flat by 2030, individual energy use is projected to increase from 18 percent of electricity in commercial buildings in 2001 to as much as 38 percent in 2035. The company is developing software designed to help people easily see and reduce their personal energy usage through immediate feedback using a cost-effective remote sensor and LED lighting color response system.
Biopico Systems Inc. of Irvine, Calif. received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to develop a portable testing system for water borne pathogens. Biopico Systems, with the University of California, Irvine, proposes to develop an inexpensive, remotely operated system to rapidly detect and identify waterborne pathogens. These innovations will provide opportunities for developing automated high performance pathogen detection as part of a comprehensive effort to provide safe drinking water worldwide.
CLEW of Pasadena, Calif. received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to develop a cost effective household wastewater treatment and nutrient removal system. Coastal communities have seen algal blooms and fish die-offs due to nitrogen loading and phosphate pollution from densely populated areas with limited access to centralized sewage systems. CLEW proposes to develop an inexpensive and efficient household wastewater treatment system that will reduce nitrogen loading to surface water, while producing valuable by-products such as hydrogen and fertilizers. The wastewater treatment unit can be powered by solar panels or connected to regular electrical grid.
AquaNano LLC of Monrovia, Calif. received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to develop a high capacity perchlorate filter for drinking water treatment. Perchlorate is a major contaminant of drinking groundwater sources in the US. Currently the best available technology for treating perchlorate-contaminated drinking groundwater sources can be cost prohibitive in groundwater sources with high perchlorate levels or high levels of other contaminants. AquaNano has developed a cost-effective high capacity perchlorate filter and will explore the commercialization of this new treatment.
HJ3 Composite Technologies of Tucson, Ariz., received a $100,000 SBIR contract for their proposal to use green materials and technology to double the life of drinking water pipelines. Nearly half of the existing concrete pipe drinking water infrastructure is nearing the end of its useful life with an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year in the U.S. Assuming every pipe would need to be replaced, the cost could reach more than $1 trillion over the next 25 years. The company proposes to use new materials, manufacturing techniques and installation processes to repair and extend the life of existing drinking water pipes by at least 25 years. The new material is a carbon filament fabric installed and cured in the pipe using electrical current, resulting in a pipe-within-a-pipe rated for potable drinking water and the pipe's design pressure.
EPA's SBIR program funds small businesses to develop and commercialize innovative, sustainable technologies to address current environmental issues. Annually, EPA releases a new funding opportunity for small businesses in a competitive two phase process. In Phase I, small businesses can receive up to $100,000 for "proof of concept" of their technology. Successful Phase I companies can apply to develop and market their technology with Phase II funding up to $300,000. Many of the SBIR recipient companies go on to leverage EPA's funding to bring their designs to reality, expand business, and create products that help protect human health and the environment.
EPA SBIR Phase I awards: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir/14awards
EPA's SBIR Program: www.epa.gov/ncer/sbir +++++
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Jeremy Tobias Matthews
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