Santa Clara, Calif. — June 27, 2012 — Picarro, the world's leading provider of instruments for carbon and water cycle measurements, today announced it has been named the winner of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Technology Transfer (STTR) award. The DOE has recognized Picarro for its achievements in energy technology for the fiscal year 2011. Recipients of the award are chosen because they excel beyond expectations in one or more of the following criteria:

• Stimulating U.S. technological innovation and enhancing the nation’s return on its DOE SBIR/STTR investment
• Providing the DOE and/or its national laboratories, research facilities, or university research partners the benefits of commercial applications derived from DOE SBIR/STTR funded research and development
• Stimulating U.S. economic growth and creating jobs as a result or in part of DOE SBIR/STTR funded research and development

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, employing half of all workers in America and creating two out of every three new jobs in the U.S.,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. “These businesses are helping to reduce our dependence on imported oil and protect our air and water, while ensuring that the United States leads in the global clean energy race.”

The Department of Energy’s SBIR/STTR Program is the DOE’s principal applied research and development grants program, designed to stimulate technological innovation by small advanced technology firms and provide new, cost-effective scientific and engineering solutions to challenging problems. Funding granted to Picarro by the DOE in 2004 was used to develop the company’s first prototype cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) instrument, which has revolutionized the way greenhouse gases (GHGs) are measured and accurately quantified. This prototype became the forerunner for several commercially successful instruments for GHG atmospheric studies and a full line of commercially-available gas and stable isotope measuring instruments. Today, these instruments are used in a number of important applications, including energy exploration, natural gas leak detection, and point source and urban-scale emissions.

“We are honored to receive this award from the Department of Energy,” said Picarro CEO Michael Woelk. “Picarro’s ongoing commitment to constant innovation, the environment, and job creation is of utmost importance, and we greatly appreciate this recognition. This award validates the hard work put forth by our team and further motivates us as we continue to develop the most cutting-edge scientific and technological solutions to combat today’s big global challenges, which are negatively impacting both natural and urban environments, as well as our air, water and food.”

Picarro’s high-precision gas analyzers and optical stable isotope measurement instruments are used in a wide variety of scientific and industrial applications, including: atmospheric science, air quality, greenhouse gas measurements, gas leak detection, food safety, hydrology, ecology and more. Deployed in places as diverse as the Greenland Ice Cap, a volcano in Nicaragua, research ships, and U.S. Coast Guard airplanes, Picarro’s analyzers are unparalleled in their precision, ease of use, portability and reliability. The company’s products are all developed and built in Picarro’s Santa Clara, California headquarters and exported to countries worldwide. Some of Picarro's customers include: Harvard, Nanjing, and Stanford Universities; Australia’s CSIRO, the China Meteorological Administration, LSCE, NASA, and NOAA; Earth Networks, ICOS in Europe, NEON, WMO GAW, and INFLUX; top government regulatory agencies, including the German, Irish, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies; and Alcan, Eli Lilly, and Waste Management, Inc. 

The DOE works to strengthen the United States' secure energy future, environmental quality, and economic vitality in many ways, including public-private partnerships. The DOE is one of 11 federal departments that participate in the SBIR and STTR programs. Enacted under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982, these programs have helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards.