CEL won a grant through the Small Business Innovation Research program at the National Science Foundation (NSF).
NSF's SBIR program recently announced SBIR Phase I awards and named CEL as one of the winners. We'll use our Phase I award to evaluate theoretical machine learning frameworks for learning building thermal dynamics in the real world. Specifically, the project team hopes to use this award to converge on an architecture that can more reliably and accurately manage energy use and occupant comfort compared to state-of-the-art control approaches. The project team also aims to demonstrate a significant reduction in HVAC-driven peak system demand in target buildings while keeping instrumentation, labor, and data costs per building affordable for the target market.
The SBIR program at NSF supports scientific excellence and technological innovation that is moving from the lab to the market. All proposals submitted to the program, also known as America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF, undergo a rigorous merit-based review process. America's Seed Fund awards more than $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development, helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $9.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
“NSF accelerates the translation of emerging technologies into transformative new products and services,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “We take great pride in funding deep-technology startups and small businesses that will shape science and engineering results into meaningful solutions for today and tomorrow.”
