Clean & Renewable Energy SBIRs - From the NIH!

I expect Clean and Green SBIR topics from the DOE and the EPA, and even from the DOD, but today's email from the NIH was a real surprise. The NIH is looking for clean and renewable energy SBIR and STTR proposals for projects in a wide variety of applications. This could be a great economic stimulus for small businesses who never considered applying for an NIH grant before. Here's a partial list:

• Technologies to optimize battery usage and/or energy consumption by medical devices (e.g., hearing aids, dental hand-pieces, chairs, lights), imaging technology (e.g., dental X-ray technology, magnetic resonance imaging systems), radiation therapy equipment (e.g., accelerators for proton radiotherapy), or chair/bed-side information technology (computers and displays).
• Technologies to optimize energy consumption during production and delivery of medical radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.
• Development of batteries with increased storage capacity and/or increased number of charge/discharge cycles.
• Patient monitoring technology that decreases transportation to medical facilities.
• Remote diagnostics and medical care.
• Technology development for manufacture of medical device power sources, such as increased energy density, increased number of charge/discharge cycles before battery failure, solar cells, kinetic to electrical current conversion, and fuel cells.
• Circulatory support systems: Implantable rechargeable batteries and alternate power sources and transcutaneous energy transmission systems
• Compact Implantable Defibrillators
• Respiratory support systems (e.g., artificial lungs, ventilators, CPAP machines): Implantable rechargeable batteries and alternate power sources
• More portable oxygen delivery systems with alternative energy sources
• Robotics and computer assisted surgery
• Mathematical and computer modeling of biological systems
• Information systems to coordinate patient management
• Bioinformatics and interactive databases

And that's only about half of the list! Here's the links to the announcement with the full list:

SBIR: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-100.html

STTR: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-101.html

As you can see, this opens up the NIH funding opportunity to a whole new array of technology companies. It's not just bio-tech and pharma anymore! NIH SBIR and STTR proposals are due by April 6th, so don't delay getting started on this. You'll have to download special Grants.gov templates for preparing proposals for these topics. Use the PA numbers in the URLs in the FON block of Basic Search to do it. Confused? You know who to call for help!

My friend Rich Hendel at Boeing sent me their interest list for the DOD's 2009.A STTR round today. Proposals for that are due by March 25th. Send me an email if you'd like a copy of the Boeing list.

I sent out the SBIR Coach's Newsletter for February yesterday. The Special Topic is "How to Protect Your SBIR Data Rights". Copy is downloadable from the website's Newsletter page.

And, finally, please don't forget to send those Legislator Letters on SBIR Reauthorization. Template letter is on the website. As they say at Nike: JUST DO IT!
.