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The state’s Economic Development Authority approved 46 businesses to take part in New Jersey’s 21-year old Net-Operating Loss credit program, an incentive that helps companies offset many of the financial losses that come with research and development.

Under the NOL Program, technology and life sciences businesses can acquire R&D tax breaks, which can be sold for at least 80 percent of their value, capped at $15 million per business.

The $60 million allocated to the program this year will be spread among all 46 companies, 12 of which are taking part in the NOL program for the first time, the EDA said in a Tuesday afternoon statement.

This year marks the second in a row that the EDA maxed out the $60 million of tax credits available under the program.

Proponents of the NOL program contend the incentive helps prop up budding companies hoping to develop new technologies in the state and finance their research. With much of that research unprofitable, many of those companies might lack the ability to expand their operations, or could even go out of business, without the added state support, proponents argue.

The program has approved $1 billion for 540 different companies since its inception, according to the EDA.

“Every day, entrepreneurs continue to realize the vast benefits that locating in the Garden State can bring, including our ideal location, talented workforce, and unique funding resources like the NOL Program,” EDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan said Tuesday in a statement.

The EDA employs a similar program – the Angel Investor Tax Credit – to help investors recoup some of the financial losses they might incur while investing in certain start-ups.

Under the program, which will be expanded to $25 million on Jan. 1, 2020, an investor can sell their tax credit for up to 20 percent of their investment into certain technology startups in the state, or 25 percent for investments into low-income communities, federal opportunity zones or businesses owned by women or people of color.

In both cases, the total amount is capped at $500,000, and the money they receive by selling the tax break is a guaranteed amount of money they will recoup in the event that the investment fails.

With the Angel Investor tax credit, the investment must be made into a company with a maximum of 225 employees, while the NOL program is only open for businesses with up to that amount of workers.