The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Forever Analytical Services, Inc. (FAS) received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I contract to develop technologies that address some of the most pressing environmental problems in the United States. The contract was part of 25 small business research funding totaling $2,497,134.
Forever Analytics Services is an environmental testing startup commercializing innovative total organic-fluorine detection methods for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds. FAS was started as an effort between the University of Nore Dame professor Dr. Graham Peaslee and the IDEA Center. We will further address innovations.
Federal SBIR and STTR programs are known as "America's Seed Fund," enabling early-stage startups to develop critical technologies further and bring them to market. They are one of the largest sources of early-stage capital for technology commercialization in the United States. They meet federal research and development demand while increasing the potential for private-sector commercialization. The Environmental Protection Agency SBIR program runs an annual, two-phase competition for funding. Phase I funding is six months to one year to conduct feasibility studies and develop a proof of concept for the proposed technology and solutions.
Forever Analytics Services' received its first SBIR Phase I award from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2022. The aggregate funding under this award totaled $100,000. The funds from this award will be primarily used to develop a field-deployable solid-phase extraction device and develop commercial partnerships to deploy the technology to areas of known PFAS contamination.
According to Forever Analytics Services CEO Hunter MacMillian, "This partnership presents an exciting opportunity to demonstrate further the usefulness of our technology as well as begin to demonstrate its utility in real-world environments solving real-world problems."
For more information about Forever Analytics Services and the Environmental Protection Agency SBIR, visit https://www.epa.gov/sbir.