The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) https://www.nist.gov within the Department of Commerce has awarded more than $7 million to 23 small businesses in 14 states through two separate efforts under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Nearly $3.2 million will go to help four businesses advance technologies in response to COVID. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 enabled four awards for research, development, and testbeds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID.
The awards were made under the SBIR Fast-Track program’s Phase I and Phase II programs simultaneously. This allows Fast-track awardees to conduct R&D for their technologies to be followed up by developing a prototype. After the completion of their Phase I projects, awardees are eligible to receive Phase II funding of up to $600,000 to continue their efforts.
The four 2022 SBIR ARP Fast-Track Awardees include:
- 3D array Technology LLC received $800,000 for the project Nanostructure Array Integrated Medical Mask Design with High filtration, Low Breathing Resistance, and Antimicrobial Performances. This is a new type of nanostructure array of integrated microfibers to enable medical masks to enable high filtration efficiency, low breathing resistance, and have good antimicrobial capabilities
- IC3D Inc. received $800,000 for the project Regionalized Quality Control Centers for Mobilization of Distributed Additive Manufacturing, a pilot to study regional additive manufacturing quality control in order to have access to appropriate quality control testing facilities for the manufacturing of critical supplies in a pandemic
- Ratiocinative Engineering Services LLC received $771,619 for the project Multispectral Fluorescence Sensing of Airborne Proxy Infectious Particles in Actual Indoor Environments to enable a testbed to provide more accessible and robust quality control testing for air filtration and ventilation systems in actual built-up environments
- Vuronyx Technologies received $799,970 to develop Peracetic Acid Based Disinfectant for PPEs, a powder to disinfect PPEs so PPEs can be reused
Go to https://www.sbir.gov for more information on the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology (STTR) programs. The SBIR and STTR programs enable small businesses to explore their technological potential by providing incentives to profit from the commercialization of the technology.