Now in its 7th year, Energy I-Corps helps fill critical gaps in education by providing meaningful real-world opportunities for the application of commercialization and entrepreneurial skills to Department of Energy technologies.
Office of Technology Transitions
February 17, 2022
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Each year, we take time to look back, take stock, and review what worked and what didn't over the past 12 months. It's easy to dwell on the challenges that have dominated our lives in 2020 and 2021, but we should also celebrate our successes. This year, we are again excited to mark the occasion of our Energy I-Corps 2021 Annual Report.
Now in its 7th year, and detailed in the Annual Report, Energy I-Corps helps fill critical gaps in education by providing meaningful real-world opportunities for the application of commercialization and entrepreneurial skills to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) scientists and technologies. These experiential learning opportunities bridge the many pitfalls along the research, design, demonstration, and deployment continuum.
Over the last year, the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) has continued its role as stewards of the DOE commercialization mission by expanding the reach of the Energy I-Corps model. In 2021, we met our goal of securing the participation of all 17 national laboratories in our Energy I-Corps Satellite Funding efforts as well as launching a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) track.
So far, Energy I-Corps technologies have collectively attracted more than $110 million in post-program funding. As of the end of the 13th training session in the fall of 2021, teams have collectively worked with more than 160 industry mentors and conducted more than 11,500 discovery interviews to determine the commercial impact of their technologies.
The projects that are part of the Energy I-Corps program include safer, more efficient ways to detect radiation, improving the capacity of existing power lines, helping craft brewers capture their own CO2, and more.
We at OTT continue to recognize that Energy I-Corps serves as a strategic entity in fulfilling the DOE mission and bolstering our role as prominent global leaders in technology. Working to support an unbroken path to commercialization of DOE-supported technologies is a key strategy for maximizing the public benefit of not only the entire national laboratory complex, but for DOE as a whole.
Delve into our accomplishments over the past year and discover where we hope to go in the future.