CleanRobotics receives EPA funding for AI-powered waste sorting system

Longmont, Colorado-based CleanRobotics Inc. will receive $400,000 in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop an artificial intelligence-powered TrashBot waste diversion technology for sorting and auditing waste disposal.

The company is among eight small businesses nationwide selected to receive a total of nearly $3.17 million in funding to further develop and commercialize their environmental technologies, delivering economic and environmental benefits to the communities they serve, the EPA says.

“Companies like CleanRobotics are demonstrating true leadership in developing innovative products that improve the environment and quality of life in our communities,” says EPA Regional Administrator K.C. Becker. “The commercialization of the company’s trash sorting and auditing system will enhance recycling efforts across a wide range of applications and customers.”

The EPA issues an annual SBIR solicitation for technology proposals for specific high-priority environmental topics. Proposals are evaluated on their technical merit, potential for commercialization and impact in the given topic area.

CleanRobotics and the seven other companies already have received Phase 1 contracts from the EPA of up to $100,000 for six months to prove the concept for their proposed technology. The companies will receive Phase II awards of up to $400,000 to further develop and commercialize the technologies.

Additional small businesses that are receiving SBIR Phase II awards include:

• Geometric Data Analytics (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) – To develop a web-based application that uses mathematical and statistical techniques to provide highly localized and accurate forecasts to mitigate pesticide drift.
• Kebotix Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts) – To develop an artificial intelligence platform to develop polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-free pigments.
• KLAW Industries LLC (Binghamton, New York) – To develop a novel process to reuse wasted glass in high-performance, low-carbon concrete.
• Ohio Lumex Co. (Solon, Ohio) – To develop a sorbent trap for continuous emissions monitoring of metal hazardous air pollutant emissions.
• Sonata Scientific LLC (Danbury, Connecticut) – To develop an air purifier that uses photocatalytic technology to destroy airborne pathogens.
• Triangle Environmental Health Initiative (Durham, North Carolina) – To develop a compact, modular treatment system for the non-potable reuse of residential and commercial greywater.
• Zabble Inc. (Walnut Creek, California) – To develop a zero-waste management platform that uses artificial intelligence.