Base Annual Appropriations Technology Commercialization Fund

OTT Technology Commercialization Fund Logo

The Base Annual Appropriations TCF is an estimated $40 million annual program that improves America’s energy competitiveness and security by accelerating commercialization and the shepherding of critical energy technologies from the National Labs to the market, where the private sector will continue to innovate. The TCF utilizes 0.9% of the annual budget for DOE's applied energy research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for each fiscal year from the following DOE program offices:

  • Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations
  • Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response.
  • Office of Electricity
  • Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
  • Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
  • Office of Nuclear Energy

FY25 Lab Call

Fiscal Year 2025 TCF Base Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call 

On October 17, 2024, DOE issued a call for proposals from DOE National Laboratories, Plants, and Sites for the Fiscal Year 2025 TCF Base Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call. The goal of TCF is to improve America’s energy competitiveness and security by accelerating commercialization of critical clean energy technologies to market. The solicitation has been posted to Exchange.  

OTT expects to award up to $36.8 million across six topics, subject to appropriations. This lab call will be funded by the Technology Commercialization Fund Base Annual Appropriations and represents the combined effort of fifteen distinct DOE program/technology offices and OTT.  

In FY25, DOE expects to select projects from DOE National Laboratories, plants, and sites in the following six topics.  

  • Topic 1: Market Needs Assessment – Identify and analyze emerging market needs and integrate findings into strategy to maximize success of technology commercialization from National Labs.   
  • Topic 2: Curation of Intellectual Property (IP), Data, and Software – Innovate how labs connect their IP, data, and software to promising partners in the private sector.  
  • Topic 3: Matchmaking – Create or expand business incubation programming that will result in the creation of teams to commercialize National Lab-developed technologies.    
  • Topic 4: Technology Specific Partnership Projects – Advance the market pathway for individual energy-related National Lab-developed technology that is ready to generate private sector interest.    
  • Topic 5: Enhancing Laboratory Processes – Provide a more united, consistent approach to engaging external partners lab-wide and catalyzing synergies.    
  • Topic 6: Increasing Partnerships with External Commercialization Parties, Private Funders, Non-profits, and Agency- or Lab-Related Foundations – Improve how labs attract, recruit, and retain external partners to further develop and commercialize technologies by decreasing barriers to working with the labs, increasing the number and diversity of private sector partners, and accelerating and deepening connectivity with diverse commercialization stakeholders.    

An informational webinar occurred on October 30, 2024, from 3–4 p.m. ET. The webinar slides are available on Exchange. 

Questions from eligible entities can be directed to the following email: [email protected]. Interested parties can consider joining the Teaming Partner List (see the lab call for additional information).  See the lab call on Exchange here. 

FY24 Lab Call

Fiscal Year 2024 Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call

The FY24 CLIMR Lab Call represented the combined effort of 14 different DOE program offices and the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), marking the highest number of participating offices in a CLIMR lab call to date. In June 2024, OTT announced $41.4 million in federal funds towards 50 clean energy projects. These projects are dedicated to advancing clean energy technologies and strengthening existing practices to contribute to climate change mitigation, economic stability, and the broader decarbonization goals set by the United States government.

See the selected projects here.

FY23 Lab Calls

  • In March 2023, the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) called for applications for the FY23 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations National Laboratory Call for FECM Program-Led Topics, in collaboration with the DOE Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). The lab call aims to advance lab-developed technologies toward commercialization in technology areas covered by FECM’s strategic vision. 

    The lab call (DE-LC-000L101) can be viewed on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange. 

    Awards were announced in July 2023.  Descriptions of the selected projects can be found here. 

  • In March 2023, EERE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) released their FY23 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations National Laboratory Call for Proposals, with input from the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). 

    This lab call solicited applications from the National Labs to further the commercialization of promising biofuels and bioproduct technologies. The solicitation’s goal is to commercialize technologies that will lower the carbon intensity of the transportation, industry, and/or agricultural sectors, to advance the Administration's 2035 and 2050 goals. The lab call (DE-LC-000L102) can be viewed on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange. 

    Please note that you must be signed into Exchange to view the lab call as it is only available for National Labs to view on Exchange.

    Selections were announced in August 2023. Descriptions of the selected projects can be found here.

  • In April 2023, EERE’s Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO), Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), and Building Technologies Office (BTO) jointly released a FY23 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations National Laboratory Call with input from the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). The call sought proposals from National Labs to commercialize advanced materials and energy systems/processes within the built environment, including residential, commercial, and industrial settings, to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, and ultimately support the government-wide approach to the climate crisis. The lab call (DE-LC-0000020) can be viewed on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange.

    Selections were announced in August 2023. Descriptions of the selected projects can be found here.

  • In March 2023, EERE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) released their FY23 National Laboratory Call for Proposals. The lab call includes seven Areas of Interest (AOIs), one of which is for the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations, with input from the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). This TCF AOI seeks proposals from National Laboratories and Facilities to advance the commercialization of individual energy-related technologies and the overarching goal of advancing the Biden Administration’s 2035 and 2050 goals. The lab call (DE-LC-0000021) can be viewed on the EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange.

    Selections were announced in August 2023. 

  • In December 2022, this lab call was released by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions; the Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER); the Office of Electricity (OE); the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM); the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE’s) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO), and Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO). 

    This solicitation offers an opportunity for private industry to partner with DOE’s National Labs to advance energy-related technologies and Lab intellectual property (IP) toward commercialization and to reduce the barriers to commercializing Lab developed energy-related technologies and IP. The intent is to increase the volume and speed to which Lab developed energy-related technologies and IP make it to market as a result of, and in connection with, the strengthened and improved lab commercialization ecosystem. Only National Laboratories are eligible for funding from this lab call. Selections were announced in June 2023. Descriptions of the selected CLIMR projects can be found here.

Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness Commercialization Enabling Projects

In 2022, OTT revamped the TCF Base program to include projects that address barriers, gaps, and root causes of commercialization challenges for emerging clean energy technologies. These projects are dedicated to advancing clean energy technologies and strengthening existing practices to contribute to climate change mitigation, economic stability, and the broader decarbonization goals set by the United States government.  

See below for detailed information on each of the selected projects organized under topic areas outlined by the Fiscal Year 2022 and 2023 lab calls. These projects are designed to address commercialization challenges, accelerate the development of promising technologies, and streamline processes to efficiently deliver clean energy solutions to the market.  

    • Cradle to Commerce - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will develop promising lab technologies, cultivate a pool of diverse entrepreneurs, and establish new connections between industry and national labs. Partnering Labs: ANL, INL, ORNL. Website: https://c2c.lbl.gov/home  
    • Lab MATCH Prize - National Renewable Energy Laboratory will stand up a prize to provide flexible funding and targeted commercialization assistance to teams at different levels of technical and commercial readiness levels. Partnering Labs: ORNL, SNL. Website: https://www.herox.com/LabMatch  
    • VIPS - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed a first-of-a-kind Visual Intellectual Property Search (VIPS) for both patents and software. Partnering Labs: BNL, Fermi, INL, LBNL, LLNL, NREL, SLAC, SNL. Website: https://vips.pnnl.gov/home  
    • Streamlining Workflows Phase 1 - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will standardize technology transfer workflows to accelerate the transition of lab-developed technologies to the market. Partnering Labs: ANL, Fermi, INL, JLab, SNL 
    • C-4 Partnering Model - Sandia National Laboratories will create a strong regional clean energy commercialization ecosystem in New Mexico for manufacturing. Partnering Labs: LANL, ORNL, SLAC, Fermi, JLab 
    • DOE Boost Platform - Sandia National Laboratories will engage with communities across the US with energy needs and connect a diverse startup community to address these energy needs to increase the number of startups around DOE lab technologies in collaboration with thirteen other labs. Partnering Labs: BNL, Fermi, INL, JLab, KCNSC, LLNL, LANL, NETL, NREL, PPPL, SRNL, SLAC, Y-12. Website: https://www.boostplatform.org/  
    • S2-EDGE - Sandia National Laboratories will establish a collaborative approach for moving the semiconductor sector and next generation microelectronics from the lab to the market. Partnering Labs: LBNL, LLNL, PNNL, SLAC 
    • MSI Connect - Brookhaven National Laboratory will lead a Minority Serving Institution (MSI) program that focuses on connecting MSI students with the DOE national lab ecosystem through a fellowship program. Partnering labs: LLNL, SNL, PPPL, SLAC, NETL 
    • TCF coLABoratory Open Voucher Call - National Renewable Energy Laboratory is developing an open voucher call to improve lab collaboration and enhance connections with a diverse set of partners and to bring new partners into the national labs. Partnering labs: SNL, PNNL, ANL, LANL, Ames, LBNL, ORNL. Website: https://www.herox.com/openvouchercall  
    • Improving the Laboratory Foreign Review Process - Idaho National Laboratory will investigate areas to improve the foreign review process for national laboratory agreements to engage foreign companies and U.S. companies with foreign influence more effectively. Partnering labs: INL, Ames, SNL, LLNL, LANL, SLAC, ANL, ORNL 
    • Streamlining CRADAs associated with cooperative agreements - Idaho National Laboratory will develop a DOE-approved template for standardization of DOE lab scopes of work associated with CRADAs to streamline the negotiation process. Partnering labs: LANL, ANL, SLAC, ORNL 

Latest News