DOE EiR at Oakridge National Lab 2008/09

This project placed an experienced technology entrepreneur at Oak Ridge National Lab, one of DOE’s premier laboratories undertaking cutting edge research in a variety of fields, including energy technologies. With the goal of accelerating the commercialization of advanced energy technologies, the task was to review available technologies at the lab and identify those that qualify for licensing and commercialization by a private startup company, backed by private venture capital. During the project, more than 1,500 inventions filed at the lab were reviewed over a 1 year period; a successively smaller number was selected for more detailed review, ultimately resulting in five, and then 1 technology, being reviewed for immediate commercialization. The chosen technology, consisting in computational chemistry based approached to optimization of enzymes, was tested in lab experiments, paid for by funds raised by ORNL for the purpose of proving out the effectiveness of the technology and readiness for commercialization. The experiments proved out that the technology worked however it’s performance proved not yet mature enough to qualify for private venture capital funded commercialization in a high tech startup. As a consequence, the project did not result in a new startup company being formed, as originally intended