Six Utah companies received seven Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). It awarded projects addressing multiple mission areas, including clean energy, cybersecurity, high energy physics, and nuclear nonproliferation.
DOE SBIR/STTR awards strive to transform DOE-supported science and technology breakthroughs into viable products and services. The awards support the development of specialized technologies and instruments that aid scientific discovery.
Coreform, Nielson Scientific and InnoSys received support from the Utah Innovation Center with these submissions.
Utah companies selected for awards:
“Enabling solution verification and efficient, high-accuracy simulations through spline-based adaptivity in MOOSE” | Awarded Amount: $1,150,000
- Computer simulation is an important part of developing modern nuclear reactors, but until now, it has been difficult to quantify the degree of variability in simulation results. This proposal will use innovative new technology to numerically define regulators’ confidence in nuclear energy designs.
Nielson Scientific LLC, Lehi, UT
“Integrated Development of Advanced Terahertz, Infrared, and Millimeter-Wave Filters Using a Scalable Proprietary Ablation Process” | Awarded Amount: $1,150,000
- The proposed work will enable rapid, low-cost production of high-performance filters for terahertz systems for medicine, defense, security, and manufacturing applications. These filters will enhance the ability of THz systems to detect cancer in medical diagnostics, detect concealed weapons for homeland security, and perform a non-destructive evaluation of manufactured goods.
INNOSYS, INC., Salt Lake City, UT (2 awards)
“Inexpensive Low Noise Fast Switching DC High Voltage Power Supply” | Awarded Amount: $995,092
- Project Summary: This project researches, develops, and manufactures American-made reliable, reproducible, robust fiber optic glass-to-metal seals for neutron generator detector products that support enhanced national security. The project also supports and protects the United States economy.
“Grid Operator Assessment and Training (GOAT)” | Awarded Amount: $1,099,994
- Project Summary: Training load operators is challenging because of low graduation rates from existing courses, fewer experienced operators to learn from, and a more complex grid with more renewable energy sources. To help train operators, InnoSys will create simulation-based learning by completing training where operators learn through interactions with realistic scenarios.
Achilles Heel Technologies, Orem, UT
“Attack Surface Modeling for Situational Awareness and Vulnerability Analysis of Power Systems” | Awarded Amount: $1,099,878
- Project Summary: Power systems’ highly complex and interconnected nature requires new analysis techniques to understand their vulnerabilities, especially from cyber-attacks. This proposal exploits recent advances from mathematical physics and robust control theory to create tools for understanding the impact of possible disruptions to these systems.
Applied Minerals Inc, Eureka, UT
“Domestic Halloysite-Derived Silicon as a Low-Cost High-Performance Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries” | Awarded Amount: $1,150,000
- The cost of lithium-ion battery electrode materials must be reduced to enable the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. This proposal allows commercial production of high-performance, low-cost battery electrode material through an innovative process derived from a unique domestic mineral resource found in Utah.
GlycoSurf, LLC, Salt Lake City, UT
“Development of Ligand-Associated Solid-Liquid Extraction Media System for Separation of High Purity Individual Rare Earth Elements from Coal-based Resources” | Awarded Amount: $1,629,853
- Rare earth elements are critical materials, and coal combustion byproducts contain significant quantities of these strategic metals. This technology separates metals extracted from coal waste products into individual rare earth oxides using glycolipid and DTPA-analogs.