ConnectWerx, a Partnership Intermediary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is proud to release the FY26 Small Business Innovation Research – Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase I funding opportunity in support of the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) administration of DOE’s programs. Following the first Phase I funding opportunity under OTC’s management of the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs supporting the Genesis Mission, this broader opportunity introduces a more streamlined, applicant-focused approach to the Phase I program across DOE supported technology areas.

DOE intends to make approximately 160 awards totaling up to $50,000,000 for energy innovators. Please note that total funding to be requested by a Small Business Concern in their full application should not exceed $300,000 (or $306,500 if the proposal includes a request for TABA) for the scope of work for Phase I [1].

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for SBIR/STTR Phase I awards as outlined on the Eligibility Page, as well as adhere to the below topic language in their proposals.

[1] The awards will be a fixed-price award using DOE’s authority at 42 U.S.C. § 7256(a) with payments issued upon achievement of a negotiated milestone.  This is a Fast-Track Award combining both Phase I and Phase II with funding for Phase II subject to the go/no go decision point at the end of Phase I.

Topic descriptions, resources and areas of interest can be found in the Topics Document.

All applicants will be required to submit an initial Pitch application for review before they can have the opportunity to access the full application. Only successful Pitch applications will be invited to submit a full application.

How to Participate

1. Review this page for details on eligibility, evaluation criteria, and how to apply.
2. Attend one or both of the two (2) virtual Office Hours sessions in November and December.
3. Download the Pitch Development Guide template, and complete the four narrative questions, three short-answer questions, and seven structured selection questions, following the applicable word limits and instructions.
4. Gather Bibliography & References Cited (if applicable).
5. Complete the Submission Form. Submissions are due no later than Wednesday, 12/16  at 2 PM ET.

Timeline:

• Friday, 10/30: AMP Pitch Applications Open
• Friday, 11/13: Video topic summaries available will be available
• Thursday, 11/19  at 3 PM ET: Register for virtual Office Hours Part I with DOE and CWX representatives here.
• Tuesday, 12/1 at 3 PM ET: Register for virtual Office Hours Part II with DOE and CWX representatives here.
• Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET: Application Closes

Future Considerations:

Selected Phase I awardees will enter into a funding agreement with DOE which also will include ConnectWerx. Selection for award is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a process to negotiate project milestones, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time. Based on their successful completion of project milestones, a subset of Phase I awarded companies will continue on to Phase II. Follow-on Phase II and II.2 awards will be made to this selected cohort based on go/no-go decision points, awardee performance, and funding availability in later years.

To access the SBIR/STTR application through the Acquisition Management Portal (AMP), you must request an account first.

Submissions are due no later than Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET. Late submissions will not be accepted. Submissions can be made in advance of the deadline and updated (or files replaced) up to the deadline.

We recognize that America’s energy innovation ecosystem is diverse, with unique technologies, challenges, and pathways to commercialization. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation, and there are no perfect answers to the pitch questions. DOE welcomes a broad range of innovative ideas, solutions, and approaches that address critical energy challenges and advance the Department’s mission and priorities.

The application includes a two-part pitch consisting of four narrative questions, three short answer questions, and seven structured selection questions. Together, these questions provide an opportunity to demonstrate your project’s technical promise, commercialization potential, team qualifications, and alignment with DOE’s mission and priorities.

No single response will determine an application’s outcome; reviewers will consider responses holistically alongside the pitch narratives.

The pitch serves as an initial screening step to determine whether DOE will invite you to submit a full application. The pitch questions, guidance, and requirements can be found here. Example responses to the pitch questions can be found here.

Because the open-text questions have strict word limits, we strongly recommend drafting your responses outside the application portal and then pasting them into the application when you are ready to submit.

You will also have the opportunity to upload a Bibliography & References Cited Document to support your pitch, but it is not required.

Files shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF (.pdf) format and not be larger than 5 MB. ZIP files and other application formats are not acceptable. All files shall be printable, without a password. Filenames must contain the appropriate extension and shall not contain special characters.

Pitches should not include proprietary or business sensitive information. 

Lab Innovation Opportunities (LIOs)

LIOs provide a pathway for small businesses to partner with DOE National Laboratories and commercialize lab-developed technologies, software, datasets, and other intellectual property (IP). LIOs have been tagged on DOE’s Lab Partnering Services (LPS) website, and each LIO page should include contact details for lab staff familiar with that IP. Applicants are encouraged to search for LIOs that may be relevant to their projects, and explore possible collaborations with the lab staff. More details about LIOs is available on OTC’s website.

Only successful Pitch applications will be invited to submit a full application.

Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET

The official announcement of the DOE Fall 2026 opportunity can be viewed here. 

To assess your company’s eligibility for this opportunity, please see here.

DOE will accept up to three (3) pitches per company. Only the last three (3) submitted pitches for a given company will be reviewed.

General Note on Selection Methodology

All proposals (at both the pitch stage and the full application stage) will be evaluated and judged on a competitive basis. Pitch proposals will be initially screened to determine topic/mission alignment and compliance. Proposals passing this initial screening will be technically evaluated by engineers or scientists to determine the most promising technical and scientific approaches. Commercialization experts will also evaluate proposals to assess their commercialization potential. Each proposal will be judged on its own merit. DOE is under no obligation to fund any proposal or any specific number of proposals in a given topic. It also may elect to fund several or none of the proposed approaches to the same topic.

Only invited pitches will be able to submit a full application. Reviewers will first screen pitches for topic and mission alignment alongside compliance with the posted solicitation. Promising pitch submissions will then receive a complete review. Reviewers will consider the following when reviewing pitches and making decisions about which ones to invite to the next application stage: Topic and Mission Alignment, Technical Promise, Commercialization Potential, and Teams Qualifications. Program Policy Factors may also be considered. More details on each of these criteria are included in the following section on Full Application Evaluation Criteria.

Pitches that are invited to submit a full application may receive reviewer feedback. Applicants whose pitches are invited to proceed to a full application may receive reviewer feedback.

Phase I applications are evaluated at the full merit review stage across three equally weighted core areas to determine, to the extent possible, the scientific, technical, and commercial merit and feasibility of ideas submitted pursuant to the SBIR/ STTR programs solicitations. Scores from each area will be averaged to produce the overall proposal score. All application materials will be considered holistically to inform these scores. The core areas are as follows:

1. Scientific and Technical Merit and Feasibility, evidenced by:

• Significance: the importance and urgency of the scientific and technical foundation of your project. (What important technical problem or limitation does your innovation address, and why is solving it important? )
• Innovation: the novelty of the proposed solution to help provide a viable product or service. (What is new or meaningfully different about your approach compared with existing technologies or methods?)
• Feasibility: the ability to successfully prove the concept within the proposed timeline and budget. (Why is your approach technically plausible? What is the principal technical uncertainty that Phase I research will investigate, and how will the proposed work help resolve it?)

2. Commercialization Potential, evidenced by:

• Value Proposition: the technology’s ability to meet identified customer needs. (Who would benefit from the innovation, what problem or need would it address, and why would the proposed solution be valuable?)
• Competitive Advantage: a realistic assessment of the competitive landscape, including how the proposed solution compares to direct competitors, incumbent technologies, and alternative approaches. (What existing products, technologies, or alternative approaches address this need, and what meaningful advantage would your innovation offer?)
• Go–to–Market Strategy: the pathway to market, including supply chain planning, target customers, and sales channels. Acknowledge key hurdles and describe plans to overcome them. (What is your envisioned path toward commercialization or adoption, including your likely initial market or application?)

3. Team Qualifications, evidenced by:

• Company: the qualifications and relevant technical and commercialization experience of the principal investigator (PI), company staff, and management; the adequacy of equipment, facilities, and other technical resources. (Does the team have the technical expertise and resources necessary to successfully execute the proposed project? Does the team have the business expertise and experience necessary to advance the innovation toward commercialization?)
• Partnerships: the availability and relevance of facilities, collaborators, strategic partnerships, and other resources that support successful project execution. (Have you identified the resources and relationships necessary to carry out the project?)
• Financials: realistic financial projections and modeling, including anticipated costs, revenue potential, and funding needs; a credible approach to securing the investment or follow-on funding necessary to advance the innovation beyond Phase I. (Do you have a realistic understanding of your financial needs and a credible strategy for funding future development and commercialization, or any previously committed funding?)

While the scores and comments of the expert reviewers will be carefully considered, it is the role of the DOE Selection Official to maximize the impact of award funds. OTC keeps an updated list of program policy factors that may be considered, in addition to expert scores and comments in determining funding recipients on their website here.

DOE and the Partnership Intermediary may use, review and evaluate application information, including Proprietary Information, using super intelligence (“SI”) technology. These SI systems adhere to all DOE security, confidentiality, and information handling requirements. By submitting an application or providing information related thereto, the Applicant is providing express consent to DOE and the Partnership Intermediary’s use of application information with DOE approved SI technology. DOE and the Partnership Intermediary will retain in confidence and maintain the protection of Proprietary Information used with SI technology. All decisions on eligibility, scoring, selection, and other inherently governmental functions will be carried out exclusively by DOE federal employees.

Please visit the ConnectWerx SBIR/STTR Resource page for additional templates and FAQs.