Rep. Swalwell Announces Energy Department Small Business Grant for Hayward Start-Up

HAYWARD, CA – U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15) today announced that Porifera, Inc. in Hayward, located in the Fifteenth Congressional District, was awarded a nearly $150,000 Department of Energy (DOE) grant for small businesses to develop clean energy technologies. The grant will enable the development of a system that will synergistically capture carbon and treat wastewater at power plants, leading to a higher water recovery while problematic water is treated using less energy.

"We cannot just drill our way out of our energy problems, we must innovate our way to energy independence. I congratulate Porifera, Inc. of Hayward on winning this grant that will help it continue its work on the forefront of energy efficient technologies," said Rep. Swalwell. "DOE investment in small businesses like Porifera not only expands our clean energy economy and creates good jobs, it also helps us move towards a safer and more secure energy future."

"We are thrilled about this grant. The award will help us develop novel way for thermal power plants to simultaneously reduce their energy and water as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Olgica Bakajin, CEO of Porifera, Inc. "Congressman Swalwell's advocacy for renewable energy jobs has been instrumental for helping DOE recognize the importance of supporting water-energy technologies such as ours and for helping to bring these jobs to Hayward."

Porifera, Inc. is a start-up developing advanced membranes, elements and systems with a commercial focus on water treatment, desalination and re-use that provide significant energy savings. Rep. Swalwell is the senior Democrat on the Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy, which oversees energy research and development as well as the Department of Energy laboratories.

The grant is funded through the Energy Department's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. In total, the Energy Department awarded 88 grants worth more than $16 million to small businesses in 28 states to develop clean energy technologies with a strong potential for commercialization and job creation.

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