FY26 Fall Opportunity

ConnectWerx, a Partnership Intermediary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is proud to release the FY26 Small Business Innovation Research – Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Phase I funding opportunity in support of the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) administration of DOE’s programs. Following the first Phase I funding opportunity under OTC’s management of the DOE SBIR/STTR Programs supporting the Genesis Mission, this broader opportunity introduces a more streamlined, applicant-focused approach to the Phase I program across DOE supported technology areas. DOE intends to make approximately 160 awards totaling up to $50,000,000 for energy innovators. Please note that total funding to be requested by a Small Business Concern in their full application should not exceed $300,000 (or $306,500 if the proposal includes a request for TABA) for the scope of work for Phase I [1]. Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for SBIR/STTR Phase I awards as outlined on the Eligibility Page, as well as adhere to the below topic language in their proposals. [1] The awards will be a fixed-price award using DOE’s authority at 42 U.S.C. § 7256(a) with payments issued upon achievement of a negotiated milestone. This is a Fast-Track Award combining both Phase I and Phase II with funding for Phase II subject to the go/no go decision point at the end of Phase I. Topics Topic Estimated # of Awards Areas of Interest Topic descriptions, resources and areas of interest can be found in the Topics Document. Process DetailsAll applicants will be required to submit an initial Pitch application for review before they can have the opportunity to access the full application. Only successful Pitch applications will be invited to submit a full application. How to Participate Review this page for details on eligibility, evaluation criteria, and how to apply. Attend one or both of the two (2) virtual Office Hours sessions in November and December. Download the Pitch Development Guide template, and complete the four narrative questions, three short-answer questions, and seven structured selection questions, following the applicable word limits and instructions. Gather Bibliography & References Cited (if applicable). Complete the Submission Form. Submissions are due no later than Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET. Timeline: Friday, 10/30: AMP Pitch Applications Open Friday, 11/13: Video topic summaries available will be available Thursday, 11/19 at 3 PM ET: Register for virtual Office Hours Part I with DOE and CWX representatives here. – registration link coming soon! Tuesday, 12/1 at 3 PM ET: Register for virtual Office Hours Part I with DOE and CWX representatives here. – registration link coming soon! Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET: Application Closes Future Considerations: Selected Phase I awardees will enter into a funding agreement with DOE which also will include ConnectWerx. Selection for award is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicants will undergo a process to negotiate project milestones, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time. Based on their successful completion of project milestones, a subset of Phase I awarded companies will continue on to Phase II. Follow-on Phase II and II.2 awards will be made to this selected cohort based on go/no-go decision points, awardee performance, and funding availability in later years. How to ApplyPitch ApplicationsTo access the SBIR/STTR application through the Acquisition Management Portal (AMP), you must request an account first. Submissions are due no later than Wednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET. Late submissions will not be accepted. Submissions can be made in advance of the deadline and updated (or files replaced) up to the deadline. Request AMP AccessApply Here (AMP)We recognize that America’s energy innovation ecosystem is diverse, with unique technologies, challenges, and pathways to commercialization. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation, and there are no perfect answers to the pitch questions. DOE welcomes a broad range of innovative ideas, solutions, and approaches that address critical energy challenges and advance the Department’s mission and priorities. The application includes a two-part pitch consisting of four narrative questions, three short answer questions, and seven structured selection questions. Together, these questions provide an opportunity to demonstrate your project’s technical promise, commercialization potential, team qualifications, and alignment with DOE’s mission and priorities. No single response will determine an application’s outcome; reviewers will consider responses holistically alongside the pitch narratives. The pitch serves as an initial screening step to determine whether DOE will invite you to submit a full application. The pitch questions, guidance, and requirements can be found here. Example responses to the pitch questions can be found here. Because the open-text questions have strict word limits, we strongly recommend drafting your responses outside the application portal and then pasting them into the application when you are ready to submit. You will also have the opportunity to upload a Bibliography & References Cited Document to support your pitch, but it is not required. File TitleResource(s)File Type Pitch Development GuideTemplate.pdf Pitch ExampleExample.pdf Bibliography & References Cited.pdf Files shall be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF (.pdf) format and not be larger than 5 MB. ZIP files and other application formats are not acceptable. All files shall be printable, without a password. Filenames must contain the appropriate extension and shall not contain special characters. Pitches should not include proprietary or business sensitive information. Lab Innovation Opportunities (LIOs) LIOs provide a pathway for small businesses to partner with DOE National Laboratories and commercialize lab-developed technologies, software, datasets, and other intellectual property (IP). LIOs have been tagged on DOE’s Lab Partnering Services (LPS) website, and each LIO page should include contact details for lab staff familiar with that IP. Applicants are encouraged to search for LIOs that may be relevant to their projects, and explore possible collaborations with the lab staff. More details about LIOs is available on OTC’s website. Only successful Pitch applications will be invited to submit a full application. Important DatesSubmission DeadlinesWednesday, 12/16 at 2 PM ET Informational “Office Hours” Session(s) Thursday, 11/19 at 3 PM ET: virtual Informational Office Hours Part I Tuesday, 12/01 at 3 PM ET: virtual Informational Office Hours Part II ResourcesOpportunity AnnouncementThe official announcement of the DOE Fall 2026 opportunity can be viewed here. Eligibility and Evaluation DetailsEligibilityTo assess your company’s eligibility for this opportunity, please see here. DOE will accept up to three (3) pitches per company. Only the last three (3) submitted pitches for a given company will be reviewed. General Note on Selection Methodology All proposals (at both the pitch stage and the full application stage) will be evaluated and judged on a competitive basis. Pitch proposals will be initially screened to determine topic/mission alignment and compliance. Proposals passing this initial screening will be technically evaluated by engineers or scientists to determine the most promising technical and scientific approaches. Commercialization experts will also evaluate proposals to assess their commercialization potential. Each proposal will be judged on its own merit. DOE is under no obligation to fund any proposal or any specific number of proposals in a given topic. It also may elect t…