On Thursday November 29, 2018 the EPA SBIR hosted their annual Phase I Kick-Off Meeting in Washington, DC, highlighting the 17 Small Businesses that have been awarded up to $100,000 each. The technologies being developed focus on environmental issues that affect air, soil and water quality as well as some health-related concerns. A listing of the companies and technologies may be found on the EPA SBIR website.
Presentations provided by April Richards, EPA SBIR Program Manager, Andrew Wheeler, EPA Acting Administrator, and others emphasized the importance of commercialization and the value of each of the companies participating. A Keynote Panel conducted a discussion on “Paths to Commercialization” as the theme of the meeting. Dr. Konstantin Izvolsky, E. Wayne Turnblom, and Norton Kaplan, all commercialization experts for Foresight Science & Technology provided one-on-one interviews with each awardee to drive the commercialization opportunities and to begin formulating market entry strategies. From beginning to end, the commercialization theme was the driving force – to not only keep pace with the growing economy but to also contribute to it in many varying and unique ways.
