STTR Phase I — Department of Energy

Who qualifies

• For-profit US small business with 500 or fewer employees including all affiliates
• More than 50% owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent legal residents
• New 2026 mandatory requirement: foreign national/ownership screening (FOCI disclosure) for all applicants per the April 13, 2026 SBIR/STTR reauthorization
• Must formally partner with a single US research institution — eligible partners are US universities and colleges (accredited), DOE national laboratories, NASA centers, other federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), or nonprofit research organizations chartered in the US
• The research institution must perform at least 30% of the Phase I work (measured in dollars) — this is a statutory floor, not a recommendation
• The small business must perform at least 40% of the Phase I work
• PI may be employed at the small business OR at the research institution (greater flexibility than SBIR which requires PI at the small business)
• A written Research Institution Agreement (RIA) or subcontract agreement must be executed before submitting the application
• Proposal must address a specific DOE STTR topic from the current FOA — topics are organized by DOE program office and national lab
• Active SAM.gov registration with valid UEI required
• SBA SBIR Company Registry registration required at sbir.gov
• No cost-sharing required for Phase I

Hard requirements

• Must be incorporated
• 51%+ US ownership required
• Requires a research-institution partner
• Max 500 employees

What it covers

How to apply

1. 1

   Register in SAM.gov, SBIR Company Registry, Grants.gov, and DOE eXCHANGE

   Complete four separate registrations: SAM.gov (UEI, 7–14 business days for new entities), SBA SBIR Company Registry at sbir.gov, Grants.gov account (for the primary FOA submission), and DOE's eXCHANGE system at exchange.science.energy.gov (DOE uses eXCHANGE for additional STTR application materials). All must be active before submission. The combination of Grants.gov + DOE eXCHANGE is unique to DOE among SBIR/STTR agencies.

   ~6 hrs

2. 2

   Identify a DOE STTR topic and research institution partner

   Download the current DOE STTR FOA from science.osti.gov/sbir. DOE STTR topics are organized by program office (Basic Energy Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, Fossil Energy, Nuclear Energy, Biological and Environmental Research, High Energy Physics, etc.) and span 26 DOE program areas. Each topic has a designated DOE national lab or program office contact. Simultaneously, identify a research institution partner — DOE national labs (Argonne, Oak Ridge, NREL, Lawrence Berkeley, Sandia, etc.) frequently appear as research institution partners given their proximity to DOE mission areas. Contact your target national lab's technology transfer office (TTO) or research contracts office early.

   ~12 hrs

3. 3

   Negotiate and execute the Research Institution Agreement (RIA)

   DOE STTR requires a signed RIA (or subcontract agreement) between the small business and the research institution before application submission. For university partners, allow 4–8 weeks for the TTO to review and execute. For DOE national lab partners, the process may be faster (2–4 weeks) if the lab already has a partnership framework agreement (CRADAs, SPP, etc.) with the company. The RIA must specify: work scope allocation (30%/40% floors), IP rights, publication rights, and indirect cost rates for the institution.

   ~20 hrs

4. 4

   Write the technical volume and commercialization plan

   DOE STTR Phase I technical proposals are typically 20–30 pages submitted via DOE eXCHANGE. Address the specific DOE topic's research objectives, the small business's Phase I technical approach, the research institution's contribution and why the partnership enables Phase I research that the small business could not perform alone, measurable milestones with go/no-go criteria, and a Phase III commercialization plan. DOE evaluators score commercialization potential heavily — include a specific energy market application and quantify the impact (GW installed, tons CO2 avoided, cost reduction percentage).

   ~55 hrs

5. 5

   Prepare budgets and submit through Grants.gov and eXCHANGE

   DOE STTR budget submission uses the SF-424 family through Grants.gov for the formal application, plus technical attachments uploaded through DOE eXCHANGE. Prepare two budgets: the small business's direct costs and the research institution's subcontract budget (the institution must submit their own budget through their authorized contracting official). DOE program officers review budgets for 30% institution floor compliance — proposals where the institution's budget falls below 30% are administratively rejected before technical review.

   ~15 hrs

6. 6

   Await DOE peer review and award notification

   DOE uses external peer review for STTR Phase I — proposals are reviewed by panels of technical experts in the relevant program area (similar to NIH study sections but smaller). Reviews are completed 3–6 months after application close. Award notifications are made 9–12 months after the FOA close date. Non-awardees receive brief reviewer feedback. Award documents are executed through the DOE contracting office for the relevant program or national laboratory.

   ~3 hrs

SBIR / STTR details

NAICS codes: 541715, 541714, 541330, 221113, 221122, 325412, 334413

Deadline & timing

DOE STTR Phase I is released as part of DOE's annual SBIR/STTR FOA process — typically released once per fiscal year in the fall (FY2026 Release 1) with a second release possible. DOE STTR Phase I awards are announced approximately 9–12 months after FOA close. DOE topics span 26 DOE program offices and national laboratories — each topic is specific to a DOE program's research priorities. The SBIR/STTR reauthorization (April 13, 2026) restored the program after a 6-month lapse and added mandatory foreign national/FOCI screening. DOE STTR applications are submitted through Grants.gov with required attachments; DOE uses eXCHANGE (exchange.science.energy.gov) for additional application materials.

Programs that stack well

• Research & Development Tax Credit (Section 41)
• SBIR Phase I — Department of Energy
• STTR Phase II — Department of Energy
• Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (Section 48E)
• Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credit (Section 45X)
• American-Made Program Prize Challenges
• Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit (Section 45 PTC)

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