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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Innovation and Deployment

Innovation and Deployment works to accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in the market place. It also engages stakeholders including universities, industry, small businesses, community colleges, and training centers as each plays an important role as a technology moves from being an idea to being commonly installed, maintained and used in daily life. Activity areas include:

  1. Innovation/Commercialization
  2. Small Business Innovation and Research
  3. Integrated Deployment; and
  4. Workforce Development and Education

Innovation/Commercialization

Innovation/Commercialization efforts work to bridge the gap between research and development and venture capital funding and marketing. EERE activities include the Innovation Ecosystem and National Clean Energy Business Plan competitions that help bridge the commercialization "valley of death" and accelerate the transition of innovative technologies to business and industry by more rapidly bringing technologies out of the labs and into the market. Partnering the strengths of research institutions and universities around business plan competitions, graduate student research and entrepreneurship, and business mentoring provides strong support for technological innovation by small businesses and new cost-effective scientific and engineering solutions to America's energy challenges. See also the Energy Innovation Portal website for more information.

Small Business Research

Small business research has come a long way since 1982 when the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research Program (SBIR/STTR) first became law. With new approaches to research topics and new more flexible processes, EERE's SBIR/STTR program has kept pace. Since 2011, for example, EERE's program has participated in four new solicitations involving dozens of new topics and subtopics that have resulted in awards to hundreds of new small business partners on projects well-aligned with our clean energy goals.

Follow this page for current information about EERE SBIR/STTR news including funding opportunities and outreach activities For information on DOE-wide SBIR/STTR activities, visit http://science.energy.gov/sbir/.

Integrated Deployment

Integrated Deployment accelerates the in-field validation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in the most expensive energy markets in the United States. EERE provides committed local governments with technical assistance to transform energy use in areas with unusually high energy costs from relying on fossil fuels to better utilizing cleaner energy sources. Activities assess the integration of multiple EERE technology pathways to cost-effectively achieve clean energy goals, and they explore non-conventional ways of being able to move deployment forward, such as innovative partnerships, financing arrangements and policy options. See Integrated Deployment Projects for more information.

Workforce Development and Education

A large part of EERE technology deployment depends on the U.S.'s ability to innovate, produce, install, maintain, and service advanced energy technologies. EERE's workforce development and education activities support the further development and enhancement of these critical workforce skills. Projects include creating job task analyses for selected sectors, developing career visualization tools such as the Solar Career Map, creating a systems-based approach to teaching energy such as our Energy Literacy initiative, updating existing K-12 curriculum, and organizing school challenges and competitions. These activities are supported by a robust use of advanced learning technology tools, including interactive simulations and game-based learning, such as the National Training Education Resource. See the Energy Education and Workforce Development website to learn more.