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Small Business Innovation Research grant from NSF!
In May, we were awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant for $225,000 to develop a self-contained system for turning human urine into a concentrated, sanitized, and purified fertilizer. Paired with commercially-available urine-diverting toilet fixtures, this system will produce a valuable and sustainable product from urine, which is otherwise treated as waste.
The system, designed and built by our Founder and Research Director, Abraham Noe-Hays, has been piloted in an engineering building at the University of Michigan and controlled remotely from Vermont. The SBIR funding allows our team to hire additional specialists and build the next version of the system here in Brattleboro at the Research Center. With further refinement, this system could be a more affordable and sustainable alternative to the advanced septic systems that are required in many sensitive watersheds.
We underwent a rigorous, merit-based review process to receive this award. “NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, Division Director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF. “With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.” Successful completion of this project will result in eligibility for a further Phase II grant (for a total of $1 million) to continue development.
