Congratulations to the 17th Energy I-Corps cohort, which has now graduated 215 teams! To celebrate the successful completion of the program, Cohort 17 teams convened in Washington, D.C. and shared their work with key stakeholders.
Office of Technology Transitions
November 28, 2023
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The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is to expand the public impact of the Department’s research, design, demonstration, and deployment portfolio. One of OTT’s longest running initiatives supporting this goal is Energy I-Corps, a program that delivers workforce development training and funding support to accelerate clean energy technology commercialization.
At the core of its 3-topic structure is Energy I-Corps’ Topic 2 Training Cohort, which is an entrepreneurial bootcamp that provides an immersive two-month curriculum training DOE National Lab, plant, and site researchers to assess real-world opportunities for their research while building a culture of market awareness in the lab environment. Teams are funded by DOE program offices and semi-autonomous agencies, in support of a wide range of technology areas.
Energy I-Corps supports numerous technology areas across the Department by empowering DOE National Lab and DOE Plant and Site researchers with entrepreneurial and commercialization skills.
"The Energy I-Corps program offers an unmatched opportunity to train with other researchers from across the National Labs," said Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan, Chief Commercialization Officer for OTT. "Cohort 17 is joining a community of more than 200 other teams that have built the skills necessary to effectively commercialize clean energy technology since the program started in 2015."
November 2023 marked the graduation of the 17th Energy I-Corps cohort, bringing the total number of graduated teams to 215. The cohort comprised of 11 teams from seven National Labs who represented technologies ranging from low-carbon concrete to tidal power to grid resiliency:
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories.
Cohort 17 was supported by nine DOE program offices and one semi-autonomous agency:
- Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office
- Building Technologies Office
- Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
- National Nuclear Security Administration
- Office of Electricity
- Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Solar Energy Technologies Office
- Water Power Technologies Office
- Wind Energy Technologies Office.
To celebrate the successful completion of the program, Cohort 17 teams convened in Washington, D.C. and shared their work with key stakeholders. The researchers began with capstone presentations to their instructors and peers that demonstrated the impact of the discovery interview process on their path to commercialization.
Over the course of ten weeks, the 11 teams collectively conducted 793 interviews with potential customers and other stakeholders in their ecosystem. The process validated some teams: Team Lignocrete from NREL hosted four onsite visits from collaborators ready to evaluate their materials and Team Photosil from LLNL found an opportunity to provide prosthetics to third-world countries by identifying time- and money-saving measures.
Others graduated from the program with a whole new direction for their technology. They discovered their original market was not as receptive as expected and are planning a pivot that will better align with industry demands. In this way, Energy I-Corps helps ensure that DOE is not funding National Lab research the private sector does not want or need. By collaborating with industry partners throughout the commercialization process, OTT is supporting a culture of market awareness throughout the National Lab system.
To further drive this home, Energy I-Corps incorporated OTT’s new "Adoption Readiness Level" framework into its curriculum for the first time with Cohort 17. This complements Technology Readiness Levels, extending beyond technology hurdles to encompass market barriers that must be overcome in tandem. Participants embraced this new method of comprehensive benchmarking that includes factors such as policy, existing workforce, capital flow, and manufacturing on the road to commercialization.
While in D.C., the researchers also met with leaders on Capitol Hill to highlight the impact of their lab work and Energy I-Corps projects on both the nation’s clean energy transition and local economies. This activity underlines the importance of honing the ability to communicate complex scientific topics through digestible presentations. The week culminated at DOE headquarters, where every team connected with their respective funding program office or semi-autonomous agency to present their findings and market insights.
The 11 teams in Energy I-Corps Cohort 17 gave capstone presentations to the program instructors and fellow participants, sharing insights into market opportunities for their technologies and discussing future commercialization opportunities. Photo by Donica Payne, DOE
Now, the researchers return to their labs with a clear roadmap for industry engagement that will shape their future research endeavors and foster a culture of market engagement within their home lab. In this way, Energy I-Corps ensures DOE’s investment in the National Labs, plants, and sites and strengthens long-term U.S. competitiveness.
Since its founding in 2015, Energy I-Corps graduates have attracted more than $175 million in post-program funding, launched more than 20 new businesses based on their technologies, and executed more than 75 licenses. These achievements stand as a testament to the program’s effectiveness in driving innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and accelerating the transition to a clean energy future.
We applaud the dedication of Cohort 17 and look forward to witnessing the continued impact of Energy I-Corps as it empowers the next generation of clean energy leaders.
