Purpose of EPA’s SBIR Program
Every Federal agency with an extramural research and development budget over $100 million is required by law to have a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program (Small Business Development Act of 1982, SBIR and STTR Extension Act of 2022). For the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the SBIR program provides one way it can directly award funding to small businesses. Since 1982, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA’s) SBIR program has supported American small businesses with over 1,700 awards to more than 330 industry-sponsored projects in 49 of the 50 states. EPA’s SBIR program funds American small businesses across the country to develop and commercialize innovative environmental technologies to help advance the Administrator’s Powering the Great American Comeback initiative including, Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American; Pillar 2: Restore American Energy Dominance; Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership; and Pillar 4: Make the United States the Artificial Intelligence Capital of the World.
EPA’s SBIR topics support its mission to protect human health and the environment. Because EPA’s needs are large and the available funding is small, the EPA seeks innovative technologies that offer new approaches to meeting its needs beyond just incremental improvements of existing technologies. The goal of EPA’s SBIR Program is to support small businesses in the commercialization of innovative technologies that help support EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment (www.epa.gov/sbir).
EPA is especially interested in broadening participation in the program and encourages firms new to the program to consider applying. Each agency implements the program in a phased manner that follows the technology development continuum: research, development, demonstration, commercialization, and utilization. Generally, there are two phases: the first is for proof of concept, and the second is intended to move the technology as far as possible toward full-scale commercialization. Read More in the BAA
Issued: September 24, 2026
Submission Deadline: November 8, 2026 by 11:59pm
Anticipated Funding: 25 PhI Awards, Max Awrd. Amt. $100,000, Project Execution Period 6 months
Anticipated Proj Start: Feb/Mar 2027
Topics:
1. CLEAN AND SAFE WATER
Topic 1A: Monitoring Technologies for Water Reuse
Topic 1B: Treatment of PFAS in Wastewater Sewage Sludge and Biosolids
Topic 1C: Technologies for the Removal and/or Destruction of PFAS in Groundwater
Note: Technologies for Sensors to Detect PFAS in Water are responsive to Topic 2A. Please see Topic 2A in actual BAA for longer description
2. AIR QUALITY
Topic 2A: Sensors to Detect PFAS in Environmental Matrices
Topic 2B: Advancing Technologies to Monitor Carbon Monoxide
3. CIRCULAR ECONOMY/SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS
Topic 3A: Innovative Technologies to Prevent and Recycle Food Waste
Topic 3B: Critical Mineral Recovery from Lithium-Ion Batteries and Safe Recycling/Reuse of Batteries
Topic 3C: Technologies that Mitigate the Impacts of Critical Mineral Mining or Extract Critical Minerals from Acid Mine Drainage.
4. SAFER CHEMICALS
Topic 4A: Rubber Anti-Degradants That Are Lower Concern for Human Health and The Environment
Topic 4B: Improved Lead Test Kits
Download EPA PhI BAA Components HERE