EPA Awards Nearly 400k to Billerica, Mass. Small Business to Support Commercialization of Environmental Technology Project

04/20/2021

BOSTON - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $3,192,989 in total funding for eight small businesses across the nation to further develop and commercialize technologies to protect public health and the environment. The funded technologies are focused on clean and safe water, air quality monitoring, land revitalization, and sustainable materials management. One funding recipient, Aerodyne Research, Inc., of Billerica, Mass., is receiving $399,998 of this funding for their Ethylene-Oxide Monitor with Ultra-Low Limit of Detection project.

'Small businesses are building a better future for our country with their entrepreneurial spirit and innovative technologies,' said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. 'I congratulate the small businesses who are receiving this funding. Your work is essential to helping us achieve our goal of creating healthy, clean, and safe environments for all Americans.'

'EPA is proud to continue to support small businesses in their efforts to protect human health and the environment,' said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Szaro. 'We look forward to seeing the progress Aerodyne Research will make with their innovative technology that will help to monitor air quality.'

Aerodyne Research, Inc. is developing an ethylene-oxide (EtO) monitor with an ultra-low limit of detection that can be used for air monitoring to assess public health risks. The company conducted research that demonstrated that an ultra-low limit of detection for the monitor is feasible and that it will meet the needs for an ambient monitor. The optical technology demonstrated in Aerodyne's project is direct, sensitive, and specific for EtO and the method does not collect, preconcentrate, or require any other sample preparation.

Building on the SBIR Phase I funding results, Aerodyne will develop a field-ready EtO monitor that can be utilized for ambient air monitoring to assess public health risk and for industrial fence line and facility detection to identify EtO emission sources. Upon completion of the Phase II work, Aerodyne will have researched and demonstrated all elements needed for a state of the art commercial EtO monitor that is intended to be direct, online, accurate, sensitive and selective.

There are seven other small businesses receiving up to $400,000 in Phase II funding from EPA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. These companies were previously awarded SBIR Phase I funding of up to $100,000 for 'proof of concept' of their innovative environmental technologies and are now receiving Phase II funding to further advance and commercialize the technology. In addition to Aerodyne Research, Inc., this year's SBIR Phase II recipients include:

• AquaRealTime, Inc., Boulder, Colo., is creating AlgaeTracker™, a sensor that can be deployed by a non-specialist in 30 minutes for early detection and monitoring of harmful algal blooms.
• Capro-X, Inc., Ithaca, N.Y., is developing a fermentation process, called WheyAway, that converts lactose-containing dairy industry process streams into treated water and a mixture of valuable fatty acid chemicals to decrease the expense and environmental impact associated with Greek yogurt production.
• Hedin Environmental, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., is creating an innovative, lower-cost carbonation process to treat acidic, metal-contaminated mine water that can be used by mining companies and those working to restore areas around abandoned mines.
• Lucendi, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., is building a portable, automated platform for microplastic identification and characterization which will improve the ability to monitor and assess the impact of microplastic pollution on water quality.
• NanoAffix Science, LLC, Wauwatosa, Wis., is creating a handheld device for real-time, onsite detection of sulfur dioxide, an air pollutant which can adversely affect respiratory and cardiovascular health in people.
• RemWell, LLC, Potsdam, N.Y., is creating a remediation technology that uses high frequency ultrasound to clean up groundwater contaminated by PFAS, a group of man-made chemicals that persist in the environment and human body and are believed to lead to adverse health effects.
• Triangle Environmental Health Initiative, LLC, Durham, N.C., is designing a technology that can be added to septic systems to remove and recover nutrients thereby reducing the impact these nutrients would have on the surrounding environment.

EPA is one of 11 federal agencies that participates in the SBIR program, a competitive program that supports small businesses in the development and commercialization of technological solutions. This program stimulates the economy while assisting the country in meeting its research and development needs.

For more information on EPA's SBIR Phase II recipients, visit: https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/recipients.display/rfa_id/680/records_per_page/ALL

Learn more about EPA's SBIR program: https://www.epa.gov/sbir

Learn more about the Federal SBIR Program: https://www.SBIR.gov

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