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Small Businesses Selected to Receive Research Seed Money from the U.S. Department of Transportation

Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Through the Small Business Innovation Research Program, the companies will receive $2,000,000 to research and develop innovative solutions to our nation’s transportation challenges.  

Washington — The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced its selection of twelve (12) U.S. small businesses to receive a total of $2,000,000 in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase I awards stemming from the Fiscal Year 2022 Phase I Solicitation announced earlier this year. Each year, the SBIR Program awards contracts to small businesses across the country to spur research and commercialization of innovative transportation technologies. A full list of this year’s Phase I awardees is available here.   

From coast to coast, small businesses from eight (8) states were awarded contracts in research areas. The U.S. DOT Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA, administers the congressionally mandated SBIR Program on behalf of the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.  

This year’s SBIR program aligns with the DOT’s six Innovation Principles that were announced in January to help guide the Department in fostering innovation that reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities.  

“These funds will encourage public private partnerships that share risk, foster purpose-driven innovation, and protect the interests of the public, workers, and communities. In order to create a safer and more resilient transportation system that is equitable and accessible to all, this program spurs the development and deployment of transformative technologies and research-based solutions,” said Robert Hampshire, U.S. DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology. “This year’s topics all play an important role in addressing the Department’s goals and priorities, including safety, equity, and climate change. They focus on topics centered around infrastructure and materials; detection solutions for pipelines and hazardous material transport; and approaches to support transit, rail, vehicle, and passenger safety.”  

The SBIR Program encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization. The program awards contracts in two phases and recognizes a third phase leading up to commercialization.  

The DOT SBIR program is currently working to award these Phase I contracts while also preparing upcoming Phase II and Phase IIB contracts, which will further support small businesses working to commercialize technologies developed in previous phases.  

For more information, visit the DOT SBIR Program’s website.  

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