Columbia Power Technologies with its StingRAY wave energy device has been selected to work directly with the US national laboratories to accelerate the path towards commercialization.
The Virginia-based wave energy developer will collaborate with National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, to overcome the commercialization barriers of its proprietary wave energy conversion system – the StingRAY.
The collaboration is part of the US Department of Energy’s Small Business Vouchers (SBV) pilot initiative designed to help small businesses bring next-generation clean energy technologies to the market.
A total of 33 small businesses have been selected to collaborate with national laboratories through this first round of SBV grants. They are provided with access to considerable lab expertise and tools that can help them test, validate, and introduce new products, expand their businesses, and grow the clean energy sector.
The first round of the $20 million SBV pilot project will see investment from the US DoE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy totaling to nearly $6.7 million.
Individual vouchers will range from $50,000 to $300,000 per clean energy small business.
In addition, DoE informed it will start accepting applications for the second round of the SBV pilot. The applications will be accepted from March 10 until April 10, 2016. A total of $13 million worth of funding remains, and over the course of the year, up to 100 vouchers will be awarded.
The selected small businesses will work with the national laboratories on advancing several clean energy technologies including water, wind, bioenergy, solar, buildings, vehicles, fuel cells, geothermal technologies, and advanced manufacturing.