The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Department of Energy signed a Memorandum of Agreement on Aug. 24, 2026 that creates the Small Business Investment Company-Energy (SBIC-E) Initiative, a program meant to direct private investment toward small businesses working on energy production and infrastructure. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler and Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the agreement at an event in Pennsylvania.

What the agreement sets up

The SBIC-E Initiative links the DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization with the SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation. Under the arrangement, the DOE will identify the technology, production and supply chain needs it considers critical to domestic energy, and the SBA will license and oversee the investment funds that commit capital to those areas. The SBA's existing Small Business Investment Company program has a combined portfolio value of $58 billion.

Where the DOE wants capital directed

The DOE named five categories for SBIC-E investment:

  • Traditional energy production, infrastructure and storage
  • Next-generation nuclear power and baseload power systems
  • Advanced materials, metals and critical minerals
  • Energy systems resilience and grid equipment
  • Specialized supply chain technologies tied to national and economic security

The DOE said it will review and update these priorities regularly as requirements change.

How it builds on other programs

The initiative extends the SBA's existing push on domestic manufacturing and supply chain independence, which already includes a 90% loan guarantee for small businesses across the energy production supply chain. It mirrors an arrangement the SBA set up with NASA earlier this year to direct SBIC investment toward aerospace priorities.

Loeffler said the partnership is meant to advance President Trump's energy dominance agenda and to keep the country's fossil fuel, nuclear and electric power technology 'the most advanced and plentiful in the world.' She said the goal is 'strengthening access to capital in the private sector' for the country's energy producers. Wright said the Energy Department is committing to invest in small businesses that will 'create jobs, strengthen our domestic manufacturing base' and expand domestic energy production.