Department of Energy Announces New Projects to Promote Technology Commercialization

Selected Projects to Lower Barriers to Innovation, Improve Access to National Lab Research

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of 12 projects as part of its Practices to Accelerate the Commercialization of Technologies (PACT) Laboratory Call. Developed by the DOE Office of Technology Transitions, (OTT), the PACT Lab Call promotes the transition of research developed at the Department’s National Laboratories toward the marketplace to promote U.S. competitiveness and national security.

With its 17 National Laboratories and other R&D facilities around the country, DOE is one of the nation’s largest supporters of scientific research. Ultimately, 12 projects will receive about $2.5 million in awards, combined with over $1 million in cost share.

“Secretary Perry has charged DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions with maximizing the impact of research and technologies developed across our sprawling lab complex to boost American economic competitiveness and national security,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and OTT Director Conner Prochaska. “The PACT call propels us toward that objective, and our Labs have delivered by designing creative ways to streamline the lab-to-market process by leveraging their individual strengths and promoting cooperation across the Department.”

The PACT Lab Call specifically encouraged the Labs to develop new ways to increase technology commercialization by reducing barriers to accessing Labs’ capabilities, lowering transaction costs and improving the complex’s ability to serve the private sector effectively.

Selected PACT projects engage all 17 National Labs, one National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Facility, and six external partners for a total of 24 participating entities. Ten projects have at least one partner, and seven have at least three, showcasing the readiness of the Labs to use team-focused approaches to problem solving and streamlining the commercialization process.

Selected Projects

Ames National Laboratory (Ames)

Integrated technical and non-technical opportunity framing for Critical Materials Institute developed technologies – $292,000

Partners (4): Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Decision Frameworks, L.P.

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)

Innovate Together – Labs in Chicago – $149,978

Partners (1): Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Idaho National Laboratory (INL)

Entrepreneurial Thinking: Historical and Observational Study (ETHOS) – $187,000

Partners (6): Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Enterprise Development Group

Trailhead East @ Idaho National Lab – $175,000

Partners (1): Trailhead Boise

Cybersecurity Technology Concentration and Commercialization – $200,000

Partners (4): Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Cyber CP

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)

Open Source Software: Seeds of Commercialization – $250,000

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL)

Growing Entrepreneurship at PPPL – $40,000

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Technology Safari Program – $72,000

Partners (1): Tremonti, LLC

Technology Transfer Researcher Liaison Program – $580,000

Partners (8): Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)

Accelerating Commercialization by Connecting LAboratory Inventions to Maturation (ACCLAIM) – $75,000

Partners (9): Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Kansas City National Security Campus, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Savannah River National Laboratory, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Diversity and Inclusion in InVentorship and EntrepReneurship Strategies and Engagement (DIVERSE) – $150,000

Partners (11): Ames National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility

Bay Area LINC (Lab Innovation Networking Center) – $300,000

Partners (4): Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford Technology Ventures Program.