The Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.
OTT expects to award up to $350K across Topics 1 and 3 in this instance of the EIC lab call. However, additional funding may be available based on proposals' alignment with DOE program office goals. Individual DOE program offices and partner agencies, including OTT, will review and assess relevant applications for possible selection and funding.
DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:
Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls. Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm (ET)
Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 19) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 19. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology. Application *only for Topic 2* via MS Forms link:https://forms.microsoft.com/g/9SrM9yGY2F. Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm ET
Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel). Deadline - April 12, 2024; 3pm (ET)