The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week awarded more than $2.6 million to 34 small companies under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

The grants included a $69,767 grant to Thermolose Cellulose Projects, Inc. in State College to find environmentally friendly replacements for halogenated fire retardant.

The SBIR's next solicitation for developing environmental technologies will open on March 24 and close on May 25.

Grants were awarded for work in six key environmental areas: 1) nanotechnology - the development of new technologies which use atomic or molecular-scale materials and devices to remove environmental contaminants or to create clean manufacturing processes that use less hazardous chemicals; 2) hazardous wastes - improved methods for managing hazardous wastes or finding substitutes for hazardous materials; 3) air pollution - new technologies that aid in the prevention and control of air pollution; 4) water quality - advanced technologies to keep U.S. waters cleaner; 5) homeland security - projects on safe buildings and water security; and 6) sustainability - development of sustainable technologies that benefit the environment, are not prohibitively expensive, and protect the ecosystems that supply a company's future materials.

3/11/2005