As a director in the Federal Energy and Resources practice of Deloitte Consulting, Tomás Díaz de la Rubia identifies energy advancement opportunities in the public and private sectors. Tomás Díaz de la Rubia has also promoted energy initiatives with organizations like the Council on Competitiveness, a nonprofit that partners with the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
EERE recently announced new grant areas within its Technology Transfer (STTR) and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programs, which help small businesses create and market clean energy solutions. With nine additional topics and an extra 26 subtopics, EERE has focused its new grants on areas like energy-efficient manufacturing, renewable electricity creation, and sustainable transportation.
EERE also introduced the “technology transfer opportunity,” a new category of subtopic that encourages small businesses to market and commercialize intellectual property generated by laboratories and academic institutions funded by the Energy Department. If a small businesses receives STTR or SBIR funding, these companies also retain the rights to their developments, and EERE recommends that they introduce these innovations to the marketplace.