Empowering Aspiring Hard-Tech Entrepreneurs
Starting new energy-related technology companies can be challenging, and that’s one reason the number of energy start-ups has declined significantly over the past decade. Innovation Crossroads, a Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, is supported by the US Department of Energy—including the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, Building Technologies Office, Office of Electricity, and Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research program and Basic Energy Sciences program—and by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The program leverages Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) unique scientific resources and capabilities and connects the nation’s top innovators with experts, mentors, and networks in technology-related fields to take world-changing ideas from R&D to the marketplace.
Innovation Crossroads is a two-year fellowship program that focuses on energy and advanced manufacturing technologies. Through an annual national call and competitive stage-gate process, top entrepreneurial-minded fellows are selected to join the program. Selected innovators receive a fellowship that includes a personal living stipend, a health insurance stipend, a travel allowance, a substantial grant to use on collaborative R&D at ORNL, and comprehensive mentoring assistance to build a sustainable business model.
By embedding the next generation of top technical talent within ORNL, Innovation Crossroads positions entrepreneurial researcher fellows to address fundamental energy and manufacturing challenges identified by industry.
Program Impacts
51
Start-ups supported
342+
Jobs created
$326.8 million
In follow-on funding
23
Start-ups with sales
$1.1 billion
In sales revenue
30
Patents granted
Featured News
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DOE’s LEEP Demo Day comes to Knoxville: 23 founders, $6B in alumni funding, and growth announced
The graduation brings LEEP’s total to 239 founders since the program launched roughly a decade ago. Those alumni have collectively raised more than $6 billion and created about 4,000 jobs. After two years of navigating the national labs, undergoing intense entrepreneurial programming, and building a functional business from the ground up, 23 founders are stepping
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Vitriform3D and ORNL give glass a second life through 3D printing
Glass bottles tossed in the trash are finding new life thanks to a collaboration between the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Vitriform3D, an advanced manufacturing company. Together, they found a way to turn old glass into new products using 3D printing. “There’s so much glass going into landfills in the U.S.,” said
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Nth Cycle Announces Landmark $1.1 Billion Offtake Agreement with Trafigura, Expands Operations in U.S. and Europe
Nth Cycle, the revolutionary critical metals refining company, has signed a binding 10-year agreement with Trafigura, a market leader in the global commodities industry, valued at approximately $1.1 billion USD. The agreement was signed as the Trump Administration hosted government and business leaders in Tokyo to discuss energy security at the first Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial
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