The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will provide more than $35 million in funding for 42 projects through its Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). The initiative is aimed at advancing emerging energy technologies related to grid security, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing. Including cost share from private and public partners, the total investment will exceed $57.5 million.
The TCF program is managed through the Office of Technology Commercialization’s Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call. It seeks to strengthen both economic and national security by fostering public-private partnerships, supporting innovation, and maximizing taxpayer investments.
“The Energy Department’s National Labs play an important role in ensuring the United States leads the world in innovation,” said Secretary Wright. “These projects have the potential to accelerate technological breakthroughs that will define the future of science and help secure America’s energy future.”
This year’s selected projects involve 19 DOE National Labs, plants, and sites. Among them:
– Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will start America’s Cradle to Commerce (AC2C), building on its existing Cradle to Commerce (C2C) program. Over 18 months, C2C participants raised over $15 million and launched five commercial pilots.
– Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will enhance the Visual Intellectual Property Search (VIPS) tool with a new version called VIPS 2.0. This update aims to improve access to a broad range of innovations available for licensing or open-source use.
– Argonne National Laboratory plans to advance commercialization efforts for the OpenMC Monte Carlo particle transport code as part of the Exascale Computing Project, focusing on improving nuclear safety analysis tools and helping speed up design and licensing processes for U.S. nuclear reactor projects.
A full list of this year’s project selections can be found here.
