The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) recently unveiled a substantial investment of $41.4 million in federal funds, aimed at supporting 50 high-impact projects across 17 National Laboratories.
This financial backing, allocated through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Annual Appropriations Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call, aims to expedite the development and deployment of clean energy solutions.
Unprecedented Funding and Collaboration
The FY24 CLIMR Lab Call represents the most substantial funding allocation to date and signifies a concerted effort involving investments from the largest-ever group of DOE program offices.
“We anticipate that the 50 selected CLIMR projects will drive significant impact within our National Labs and establish enduring process enhancements, ultimately delivering more clean energy solutions into the daily lives of Americans,” stated Dr. Vanessa Z. Chan, DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions.
The innovative technologies that the DOE National Laboratories are commercializing are essential to achieving the Biden Administration’s climate goals, including reducing energy costs and attaining net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Fostering Technological Advancement
Announced in November 2023, the FY24 TCF Base CLIMR lab call sought proposals from National Laboratories to advance energy technologies and refine existing practices.
Established by Congress through the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and reauthorized by the Energy Act of 2020, the TCF aims to promote promising energy technologies.
The selected projects are poised to streamline commercialization processes, accelerate the development of existing promising technologies, and initiate the development of novel energy solutions. Over 78 partner entities will collaborate with the National Laboratories to achieve the goals of the CLIMR projects.
These partners plan to contribute over $22 million in cost-sharing, bringing the total investment in both federal and non-federal funding to National Labs to nearly $64 million.
Addressing Commercialization Challenges
The lab call encompassed six key areas, with the aim of addressing commercialization challenges, expediting the development of promising technologies, and optimizing processes to efficiently deliver clean energy solutions to the market.
DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) coordinates the TCF and strengthens the DOE’s commercialization partnerships.
OTT collaborated with a wide range of DOE program offices for the FY 2024 CLIMR lab call, including the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, Office of Nuclear Energy, Office of Electricity, Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, and various offices within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Project Details and Updates
Detailed descriptions of the selected CLIMR projects can be found on the projects webpage. To stay informed about the latest funding opportunities and OTT achievements, subscribe to receive the OTT newsletter via email.
About the Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions
The Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) is a leading supporter of technology commercialization within the federal government.
Established in 2015, OTT enhances the market skills of the technology industry and facilitates the progression of clean energy technologies through research, development, demonstration, and deployment into the private sector, with the ultimate goal of achieving the nation’s climate objectives.