Argonne History
Technology Transfer: Innovations Aiding Society
Argonne has a tradition of working with industry
ever since its Met Lab days. Results of research that lead to everyday,
practical "spin-off" inventions -- just as in space technology -- have produced
benefits for the public at large. As
part of the Department of Energy's mission to help industry develop solutions
for public policy issues, Argonne is a leader in transferring technology
from the lab to private industry. Together with the University of Chicago,
Argonne formed a not-for-profit subsidiary, the ARCH Development Corporation,
in 1986. Its purpose is to speed commercialization of research innovation.
This is done by vigorously pursuing patent licensing agreements, forming
new companies, and developing joint ventures with existing organizations.
The emphasis is on creating new companies to market inventions.
 An early Argonne medical invention was a
small, inexpensive hemodialyzer -- artificial kidney -- developed for kidney
failure patients. (Click the image to see a larger photo.) |
By 1995, 13 companies had been created and the number of annual patents
filed increased ten-fold -- from 15 to 150. Some examples of start-up companies
include two in Darien, Ill., a small town of 18,000. Eichrom Industries, Inc.,
makes plastic resins used to separate radioactive materials and heavy metals
from hazardous wastes, a technology developed at Argonne. Its 1993 sales were
$1 million, and revenues had doubled over the previous year.
Nanophase Technologies Corporation, also in Darien, perfected a cheap
way to mass-produce pure, ultrafine powders made from ceramic or metal
compounds -- from one gram a day to one pound an hour; from a cost of $500,000
a pound to just $10. Their technology could revolutionize the makeup of many
everyday products, from suntan lotion to diesel engines. One of its customers
is Caterpillar, Inc., in Peoria. Together they are developing molded engine
parts, rather than machined ones, that will run at high temperatures without
breaking.
The five-year-old Illinois Superconductor Corporation in Evanston, Ill.
is a special success. The company uses liquid-nitrogen-cooled ceramic
technology developed at Argonne that eliminates resistance in electrical
devices. For example, it has developed a highly efficient electronic filter to
increase the capacity of cellular phone systems. The company went public in
1993 and has a market value of approximately $40 million. Plans are under way
to move production facilities to Mount Prospect, Ill.
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