Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory work on the cutting edge of science to develop new methods and tools that combat many of the world's challenges. But after discovery, how can researchers connect their innovative technology with a company that can further develop and implement it?
Communication is key.
"The ability to explain your research to somebody who doesn't have the same scientific background is extremely important when trying to build partnerships or bring research out of the lab and into the real world," said Nicholas Gregorich, a postdoctoral research associate in the lab's Chemical Sciences Division.
Gregorich and Syed Islam, R&D staff, recently completed Cohort 19 of the Energy I-Corps program , an initiative of DOE's Office of Technology Transitions, or OTT, that provides teams of researchers and industry mentors with an immersive two-month training to develop commercialization pathways for laboratory-developed technologies.
Islam and Gregorich worked with industry mentor Zamidi Ahmad, R&D manager at GENERON, on their technology, named Green Capture, which was funded by the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management . Green Capture's membrane technology, initially developed through funding from ORNL's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, absorbs carbon dioxide from industrial emissions, such as those from power plants or cement or steel production. It's more cost effective, energy efficient and sustainable than technology currently on the market.
"Our research is funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which is interested in applied research and thus in technology commercialization," said Islam. "Commercialization requires industry partnership."
To learn how to better facilitate that partnership, Islam and Gregorich applied to the Energy I-Corps program. Before the program started, they also participated in the inaugural cohort of Safari , now called Catalyst, at ORNL. Safari was funded by the OTT PACT program, which assists national laboratories in developing new ways to increase technology commercialization.
Through Safari, ORNL collaborated with Angelique Adams Media Solutions, LLC to develop and deliver an eight-week coaching workshop to equip researchers with the skills to effectively communicate and market their technologies. "The goal of the program is to empower and connect researchers to entrepreneurial networks both at ORNL and through other DOE programs," said Susan Ochs, engagement program manager in ORNL's Partnerships Office.
"Being in the Safari program gave me more tools to better explain our technology to someone who's not a chemical engineer," said Gregorich. "I learned to focus on the metrics that matter, the goal we're trying to achieve and the specifics of what we're looking for in a partner. Those tools carried into I-Corps."
Islam added, "We see a lot of potential in our technology, but it can't impact the world without industry involvement, and without I-Corps, that connection to industry wouldn't happen. I-Corps helped us to identify our strengths and weaknesses. It was stressful, but it was worth being stressed. We gained a pathway to interact with the industry; commercialization is not only about funding, but also learning about industry and what they need."
"It's given me a lot of confidence," Gregorich added. "Through I-Corps, we conducted 75 interviews, and by the end, I knew I could tell the story of our project to someone who might be interested in partnering or investing in our work."
Islam and Gregorich have applied for further funding from the Department of Energy, utilizing the connections they developed during I-Corps, to continue to mature Green Capture's technology and expand its impact.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE's Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science . -Brynn Downing
