The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is focused on broad market adoption of clean energy technologies. Crucial to this effort, is supporting the move of these technologies from DOE's National Laboratories to the private sector.
The Commercialization and Deployment Team takes an aggressive approach to bridging the gap between research and development (R&D), and venture capital funding and marketing. The Team uses multiple strategies, programs (e.g., Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) Program), license agreements, technology showcases, etc., to identify opportunities and interest investors. EERE provides joint funding for projects, develops business opportunities through competitive solicitations, and tracks both Federal and State incentives. The goal is to increase the rate and scale of energy efficiency and renewable energy technology market penetration.
Private capital markets aid in EERE's mission to "bring clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace."
Commercialization programs are designed to correct market imperfections and remove the non-market forces that restrict advanced energy technologies' deployment.
The Commercialization Team focuses on building bridges between Applied Scientists and Technology Investors, between the public to private sector. This challenge of transitioning the responsibility from scientists to early investors to the market is historically referred to as the "Commercialization Valley of Death."
Commercialization bridges are designed to overcome four identified development gaps:
Talent Gap:
Scientists are not businessmen; commercializing technologies require both a technical and business skill set
Talent Bridge:
Entrepreneur in Residence Program
Commercialization Fellowship
Information Gap:
Communication is fundamental to commercialization and technical language often sounds like gibberish to the business community.
Information Bridge:
Technology Commercialization Showcase
Capital Gap:
Venture capital funding is more likely to go toward business plans than research papers.
Capital Bridge:
Technology Commercialization and Deployment Fund
Strategy Gap:
The Commercialization Valley of Death is not unique to national labs, and strategies have been developed to foster innovation.