8 Huntsville companies among latest recipients of Innovate Alabama grants

Innovate Alabama has awarded $2.2 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) supplemental grants to 13 companies across the state, including eight based in Huntsville. The funding is intended to advance research, product development and job creation in sectors such as biotechnology, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, materials science and software. 

“These 13 companies have already proven their technologies can compete and win against the best in the country,” said Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama. “Our role is to help them scale those innovations here, creating Alabama jobs and sustained economic growth.”

Since 2022, the Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program has deployed more than $19 million in funds across 86 unique research-based companies, helping them expand operations, hire skilled workers and compete for larger federal contracts. The program matches federal research awards, allowing Alabama to extend the reach of those dollars while keeping innovative companies in-state.  

“Over the past three years, it has become clear how this supplemental funding creates a multiplier effect,” said Dr. Michael Chambers, Innovate Alabama board member and University of South Alabama Chief Economic Development Officer, who has championed the program since its inception. “Companies leverage the funding to expand their technical teams, bring products to market faster and establish the R&D infrastructure that generates jobs and revenue in Alabama.”

Nine of this year’s recipients have returned after using earlier awards to grow their teams and secure additional federal funding. Their continued success demonstrates how the matching model creates compounding returns for Alabama’s economy.  

“Each round, this program continues to deliver measurable results,” said Dave King, Innovate Alabama board member and former Director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “Companies returning as multi-round recipients demonstrate the value of this support in helping them scale, secure additional federal contracts, and grow right here in Alabama, ultimately growing our state’s economy.”

This round’s Huntsville recipients include:

• EngeniusMicro – Designs and manufactures advanced MEMS sensors and microelectronics for defense and aerospace applications. A three-time recipient, the company has earned multiple SBIR awards and a $1 million Missile Defense Agency contract.
• ENVENTION, LLC – Builds software, FPGA hardware and AI/ML systems for defense and space applications. The company is using its NASA Phase II SBIR award to develop a radiation-hardened co-processor for spacecraft, building on earlier work at Marshall Space Flight Center.  
• HyBird Space Systems – Builds hybrid rocket engines for defense and commercial aerospace using safer propellants and modern manufacturing. The company recently added six engineers and completed hot-fire tests of its first Alabama-built engines. A past recipient, HyBird is constructing a propulsion test stand to accelerate in-house testing and development.  
• K Sciences GP, LLC – Conducts applied research in sensors and materials science. The company has received three SBIR/STTR awards totaling $1.2 million, including work in fiber-optic sensing technology, and is using state support to advance its latest Air Force project and local R&D.  
• KODA Technologies – Designs and develops weapons systems for the Department of Defense and NASA. A past recipient, KODA is using this grant to improve systems and algorithms for detecting spacecraft, and the company has hired an Alabama A&M engineering intern to support its research team.  
• Linc Research, Inc. – Provides structural, mechanical, optical and software engineering solutions for NASA and the Department of Defense. A two-time recipient and HUBZone firm based in Cummings Research Park, Linc is using its NASA SBIR award to develop new spaceflight hardware and expand in-house R&D capacity.  
• Zaden Technologies, Inc. – Creates AI-driven defense software that automates Model-Based Systems Engineering through its Icarus platform. A two-time recipient, the company is testing, securing and scaling the platform while adding Alabama-based talent to accelerate delivery for government users.  
• Zeus Research and Technology, Inc. – Develops navigation systems that operate reliably in GPS-denied environments. A three-time recipient, the company is advancing sensor fusion and guidance technologies for defense applications and expanding its R&D capabilities at Cummings Research Park.