Turning a new energy or manufacturing technology into a company can take years of research, specialized equipment and substantial investment. For nearly a decade, Innovation Crossroads has given hard-tech entrepreneurs access to resources designed to help overcome those barriers. As Innovation Crossroads welcomes its 10th cohort and prepares to open applications for the next, four alumni companies
As much as 30% of manufacturing production can end up in a landfill, representing more than $1 billion worth of fibers annually. Their technology creates an opportunity to capture some of that material and turn it into new, high value composite products. What if waste could become the raw material for the next generation of
At Friday’s showcase, the University of Tennessee Research Park’s Spark Accelerator kicked off a cohort heavy on nuclear, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing, plus SparkShop, a new engineering track for the region’s hardest problems. Nearly a hundred founders, investors, business leaders, and ecosystem builders fought second-week-of-classes traffic to pack a conference room at the Baker School
Starting a company around a new energy or manufacturing technology is difficult. Entrepreneurs often need years of research, specialized equipment and substantial investment before their ideas are ready for the marketplace. Innovation Crossroads helps aspiring hard-tech entrepreneurs overcome those barriers. Now welcoming its tenth cohort, this Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node embeds technical founders at the Department of Energy’s
A new manufacturing process developed by Skuld with support from the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is moving from research to commercial production, offering U.S. manufacturers a faster, tooling-free approach to producing complex metal castings. In 2023, Sarah Jordan joined Innovation Crossroads to help mature Skuld’s process for
It was a pivotal few weeks for Megan O’Connor. The doctoral student and her academic advisor attended a conference session about a way to recover copper from wastewater… and the next week she abandoned three years of research to pursue the technology.
To those interested in high-end bicycles or sporting goods, carbon fiber may sound familiar, but it is relied on for myriad applications far beyond exercise and recreation. A composite of materials made from latticed carbon atoms, carbon fiber is known for its strength, rigidity and light weight. In fact, it is because of this unique
Already known for its toughness, sometimes steel must be made even tougher. When used for specific applications in extreme environments — such as in chemical processing, marine exposure or at high temperatures — even the highest-quality steel needs additional fortification to be resilient enough for the task at hand. To augment steel adequately for demanding
“Through Innovation Crossroads, ORNL plays a critical role in nurturing early-stage energy and manufacturing startups, catalyzing for innovation and collaboration,” said Susan Hubbard, ORNL deputy for science and technology.