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Technology Partnership Agreements

Through technology partnership agreements, NREL provides partners with technical support to help commercialize and deploy energy technologies and products. We do not fund any projects under a technology partnership agreement. The partner provides the necessary resources and covers our costs of providing technical services.

NREL does provide funding opportunities through competitively placed contracts. For more information, see our business opportunities.

Process

The technology partnership agreement process basically includes 11 steps. See the NREL Technology Partnership Agreement Process flowchart (PowerPoint 203 KB).

We are committed to working through these steps in a timely manner. Experience suggests that the fastest means to reach an agreement is through direct communications to create understanding and agree on actions. The assigned NREL technical contact will keep you apprised of an agreement's status throughout the process.

1. Discuss Project Proposal

During the first step, the NREL technical contact and the potential partner discuss the proposed project. To discuss a project, please contact the appropriate technical contact listed in the table below.

Technical/R&D Area NREL Technical Contact Phone
Analysis & Energy Project Assistance Bob Westby303-384-7534
Biomass John Ashworth303-384-6858
Buildings Ron Judkoff303-384-7520
Concentrating Solar Power Mark Mehos303-384-7458
Distributed Power Grid Integration Ben Kroposki303-275-2979 or 303-384-7094
Geothermal Charlie Visser303-275-4606
Hydrogen Bob Remick303-275-3830
Photovoltaics John Benner303-384-6496
Renewable Resource Assessment Tom Stoffel303-384-6395 or  303-275-2919
Transportation Bob Rehn303-275-4418
Wind Bob Thresher303-384-6922

2. Determine if Project Meets Qualifications

NREL determines whether a proposed project meets the laboratory's qualifications for a technology partnership agreement. To see the checklist we use to determine whether a project qualifies, read NREL's Participant Data Sheet (PDF 136 KB). Download Adobe Reader. 

3. Determine Agreement Type

If the project meets NREL's qualifications, the partner and NREL will determine the appropriate type of technology partnership agreement to develop. NREL's main technology partnership agreements include:

To learn more about all of our agreement types and compare them, read the NREL Technology Partnerships-Types of Agreements Chart (PDF 122 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

4. Develop Statement of Work

Once the partner and NREL determine what type of technology partnership agreement to use, they develop a statement of work, which includes project scope, costs, deliverables, and schedule.

5. Provide Draft Agreement

NREL drafts an agreement that includes the terms and conditions, and provides it to the partner.

6. Review and/or Negotiate

NREL and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will review the statement of work and draft agreement. If needed, they will negotiate the technology partnership agreement with the partner.

7. Sign Agreement

The parties sign the technology partnership agreement.

8. Review and Approve

The technology partnership agreement then goes through DOE's final review, approval process, and signature process as applicable.

9. Send Funds

After DOE completes its final review and approval, the partner sends funds to NREL. Note: this step does not apply to shared-resources CRADAs.

10. Start Work

Once NREL receives, processes, and authorizes the funds, which may take 5-15 business days, work may start under the technology partnership agreement.

11. Manage Commitment

Both NREL and the partner manage their work and deliverables to achieve the project's goal towards commercialization.

Timeline

NREL generally expects technology partnership agreements to be executed within 45 business days. Longer timelines are generally the result of extended negotiations regarding agreement terms, partner funding delays, and/or negotiations related to the scope of work or partnership terms.

If you have a question regarding the status of a technology partnership agreement, please contact your NREL technical contact.

Contact

For questions about NREL's technology partnership agreements and process, contact Jennifer Schofield, 303-384-7424.

To discuss a project proposal, contact the appropriate NREL technical contact listed in the table above.

Ombuds

NREL strives to quickly resolve any issue or concern you may have regarding its technology partnership agreement activities. To learn more about our informal resolution process, see information about NREL's Technology Transfer Ombuds.