DOE Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer

DOE SBIR Phase II

Funds U.S. small businesses advancing energy and science technologies from proven feasibility into prototype development through DOE's Phase II SBIR award.

DOE SBIR Phase II is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Technology Transitions under the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, authorized by Congress under the Small Business Innovation and Economic Security Act (signed April 13, 2026, extending the program through Fiscal Year 2031). Phase II is the second stage of a three-phase non-dilutive competitive funding process: companies that have already demonstrated technical feasibility in Phase I can apply for Phase II funding to further develop and prototype their technology. DOE takes no equity and asserts no IP rights in the awardee's technology.

Phase II awards support the development and prototyping stage of the R&D cycle. Specific award amounts and total program pools are not published on the primary DOE program page; applicants should consult the individual solicitation documents (released approximately each summer) for exact figures, topic areas, and funding levels for each annual cycle.

Eligibility is limited to for-profit U.S. small businesses that meet Small Business Administration size and ownership requirements. Phase II is only open to companies that have received a Phase I award from DOE under the same technical topic — companies that have not completed a DOE SBIR Phase I cannot apply directly. STTR variant awards additionally require a formal cooperative research agreement with a U.S. research institution.

Applications are submitted through the DOE SBIR/STTR program portal when the annual solicitation opens (typically summer each year). DOE program offices evaluate proposals on technical merit, commercial potential, and the team's capacity to execute. Solicitation-specific scoring criteria and weighting are published in each year's solicitation document. Decisions are typically announced within several months of the solicitation deadline.

Practical caveats: award amounts, topic areas, and deadlines change each annual cycle — confirm all figures against the live solicitation before preparing an application. Phase II eligibility requires completion of a DOE Phase I under the same topic; prior Phase I from another federal SBIR agency does not qualify.