DOE And SBA Launch The SBIC-E Initiative To Expand Private Capital For Energy And Critical Technology Small Businesses

Key Takeaways:

• On August 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) signed a Memorandum of Agreement establishing the Small Business Investment Company-Energy (SBIC-E) Initiative, a new partnership designed to channel private capital to U.S. small businesses developing energy and critical technologies.
• The SBIC-E Initiative builds on SBA’s existing Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, pairing SBA’s fund-licensing and investment framework with DOE’s scientific, technical, and commercialization expertise.
• Initial investment priorities include American energy production and energy security; critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, and advanced materials; artificial intelligence, quantum information science, semiconductors, and future computing; and advanced communications, biotechnology, and other critical and emerging technologies.
• Fund managers and small businesses active in these sectors, including companies participating in DOE’s commercialization and innovation ecosystem, may find new opportunities to access additional capital through the SBIC-E Initiative.

On August 24, 2026, DOE and SBA signed a Memorandum of Agreement establishing the SBIC-E Initiative, a strategic partnership intended to increase private capital investment in U.S. small businesses developing energy and other critical technologies. The initiative builds on SBA’s long-running SBIC Program.

Through its Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), DOE will identify strategic technology priorities, provide technical and commercialization expertise, and help engage the investment community. SBA, through its Office of Investment and Innovation (OII), will administer the initiative and encourage the formation and growth of investment funds focused on those priorities. The SBIC-E Initiative is intended to connect innovators with private capital to help promising technologies grow, scale, and build domestically.

Initial investment priorities for the SBIC-E Initiative include technologies supporting: (1) American energy production and energy security; (2) critical minerals, advanced manufacturing, and advanced materials; (3) artificial intelligence, quantum information science, semiconductors, and future computing; and (4) advanced communications, biotechnology, and other critical and emerging technologies.

The initiative also supports investment opportunities involving companies participating in DOE’s broader commercialization and innovation ecosystem, including the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the Technology Commercialization Fund, the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, and companies commercializing technologies developed through DOE’s National Laboratories.

DOE and SBA have indicated they will continue engaging with investors, entrepreneurs, and commercialization partners as the initiative develops. Additional information about investment priorities, participation opportunities, and future engagement activities is expected to be made available on the SBIC-E Initiative webpage.