USA: $2,000,000 in Small Business Innovation Research Grants Involving Geothermal Energy

Department of Energy Announces $121 Million for Small Business Research and Development Grants (News Release)

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry today announced that the Department of Energy will award 113 grants totaling $121 million to 103 small businesses in 29 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for Phase II research and development. Small businesses that demonstrated technical feasibility for innovations during their Phase I grants competed for funding for prototype or processes development during Phase II. In addition, prior Phase II awardees competed for second or third Phase II awards to continue prototype and process development. The median Phase II award is $1,050,000 for a period of two years.    

Highlighted below are grants awarded through the DOE office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) for research and development programs in geothermal energy:

• TerraCOH Inc. - Minnesota. SBIR grant $999,224.
  Engineering Analysis and Design of CO₂ Geothermal Power System to Provide Dispatchable Geothermal Electricity Generation and Grid-Scale Energy Storage
  TerraCOH’s CO₂ Plume Geothermal (CPG) technology will permit expansion of geothermal power as a cost-effective, dispatchable energy source by using carbon dioxide as a heat transfer fluid below ground. Our approach generates renewable power while turning CO₂ from a liability into a resource.

• Tech4Imaging LLC - Ohio. SBIR Grant $1,050,000.
  Non-Invasive Operations Tool for Dispatchable Geothermal Wells
  A lack of information on how geothermal wells should be properly balanced between harvesting hot water/steam and returning cool water puts wells at risk of being over exploited. An operational control system utilizing an innovative non-invasive mass flow meter and other well data is being developed to equip Well Operators with the tools necessary to analytically manage these valuable resources.

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