Welcome to Opportunities for Partnership
Technology Transfer Mechanisms at DOE
Technology Transfer
Portals
User Facilities and Technology
Transfer Offices
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) facilitates the exploitation of federally-funded research and development programs for the benefit of the American public through interactions with non-federal parties. DOE laboratories and facilities have expertise in many areas that support key national missions and are also critical to major high-technology industries and services. Technology collaborations between industry and DOE laboratories mutually leverage each partner's resources to meet common or compatible objectives. When entering into collaborations, DOE follows five simple principles:
Collaborations must
- directly support Departmental missions,
- have the potential to provide economic and other benefits to the nation,
- be formed in a fair and open manner,
- use best business practices,
- obtain measurable results.
As you proceed to use this Web site, please bear in mind that technology transfer can take many forms. In many instances, the Department may suggest that procurements or grants be cost-shared. In other instances technology already produced can be licensed. The Department has facilities that can be used by others under various cost arrangements. Increasingly, R&D projects are being jointly developed with cost-sharing but no federal funds are provided to our partners. This Web site seeks to help you understand what DOE is doing and what technological capabilities we have that are relevant to your needs. It also seeks to explain the various partnership mechanisms.
Technology Transfer
Mechanisms
Technology transfer can mean many things – technical assistance to solve a specific problem; use of unique facilities; access to patents and software; exchange of personnel; and cooperative research. A brief description of several technology transfer mechanisms is given below. The most appropriate mechanism will depend on the objective of each partner. Because the process to implement each of these mechanisms is conducted at each laboratory, individuals interested in partnership should access the technology transfer contact at the specific site of interest.
Cooperative Agreements – instruments entered into by the government with industry, universities, and others to support or stimulate research; agreements are generally cost-shared with the non-federal participant.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) – agreements between government laboratories and non-federal parties in which both participants provide personnel, services, facilities, or equipment for the conduct of specified R&D. The non-federal parties may also provide funds to the laboratory. On the other hand, no federal funding is provided to industry. Rights to inventions and other intellectual property are negotiated between the laboratory and participant, and certain data that are generated may be protected for up to the five years.
Cost-Shared Contracts/Subcontracts – collaboration, through a procurement, of mutual benefit to industry and to the government. Often the government can agree not to disseminate commercially valuable data that are generated under a cost-shared contract or a limited period of time.
Licensing – the transfer of less than ownership rights in intellectual property, such as a patent or a software copyright, to permit its use by the licensee. Licenses can be exclusive or, for a specific field of use or for a specific geographical area. The potential licensee must present plans for commercialization.
The DOE Invention Licensing Home Page and its associated databases contain information on Department-owned patents and patent applications, which are available for public license and commercial use.
Personnel Exchange Programs – arrangements allowing government or laboratory staff to work in industry facilities, and industry personnel to work in government laboratories and facilities to enhance technical capabilities and support research in specific areas. Costs are borne by the organization sending the personnel. Intellectual property arrangements can be addressed in exchange agreements.
R & D Consortia – arrangements involving multiple federal and non-federal parties working together for a common R & D objective. Funding for R & D consortia may be shared, but usually no funds are exchanged between participants.
Technical Assistance to Small Business – by DOE/laboratory/facility personnel, is provided in response to an inquiry from an individual or organization seeking to further knowledge, solve a specific problem, or improve a process or product.
User Facility Agreements – arrangements permitting private parties to conduct research and development at a laboratory. For proprietary R & D, the laboratory is paid for the full cost of the activity. If the work will be published, the cost can be adjusted. Intellectual property rights generally belong to the user. A list of the user facilities is available.
Work for Others – agreements whereby proprietary work for an outside party may be done by technically qualified
government laboratory staff using laboratory facilities with full costs charged to the party. Title to intellectual property
generally belongs to the party sponsoring the work. The government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to
such intellectual property.
Technology Transfer
Portals
This section provides a brief description and introduces technology transfer programs offered by the United States Department of Energy. The National Laboratories provide liaisons to DOE and have well developed technology transfer centers. Links to both the DOE Program Offices and to a wide range of laboratory sites are specified below.
The Office of Science and Technology (OST) is located in the Office of Environmental Management. OST's mission is to provide the full range of S&T resources and capabilities, from basic research to development, and from demonstration and deployment to technical assistance, needed to deliver and support fully developed, deployable scientific and technological solutions to cleanup and long-term environmental stewardship problems. OST can be found at the following site: http://apps.em.doe.gov/ost/index.asp
The Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) is located within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. OIT's mission is to develop and deliver advanced energy efficiency, renewable energy, and pollution prevention technologies for application in the U.S. industrial sector. OIT partners with industry, government, and non-governmental organizations, with the goal of significantly improving the resource efficiency and competitiveness of materials and process industries. The Office of Industrial Technologies Web Site is the Department of Energy's resource for information on industrial energy efficiency technologies, and describes the Industries of the Future strategy.
The Laboratory Technology Research (LTR) program is located within the Office of Science. The mission of the LTR program is to advance science and technology towards innovative energy applications through cost-shared partnerships with the private sector. An important priority of the Department of Energy's strategic goals is to ensure that the United States maintains its leadership in science and technology. The Laboratory Technology Research program is the lead program in the Office of Science for leveraging science and technology to advance our country's economic competitiveness through research collaboration with private sector partners. LTR can be found at the following site: http://www.er.doe.gov/production/octr/aeptr/aeptr_pr.html
Small Business Opportunities – The Department offers the following programs in small business research and commercialization assistance:
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
The Objectives of the SBIR program are to increase private sector commercialization of technology developed through
DOE-supported R&D, stimulate technological innovation in the private sector, and improve the return on investment
from federally funded research for economic and social benefits to the nation. The SBIR program budget for FY 2000 is
expected to be about $80 million. These funds are used to support an annual competition for Phase I awards of up to
$100,000 each for about 6 months to explore the feasibility of innovative concepts. Phase II is the principal research or
R&D effort, and the awards are up to $750,000 over a two-year period. DOE funds about 200 Phase I projects and
about 80 Phase II projects per year. In Phase III, it is intended that non-Federal capital be used by the small business
concern to pursue commercial applications of the R&D. Also under Phase III, Federal agencies may award non-SBIR
funded follow-on grants or contracts for products or processes that meet the mission needs of those agencies, or for
further research or R&D. DOE's annual solicitation contains topics in technical areas such as: Basic Energy Sciences,
Biological and Environmental Research, High-Energy and Nuclear Physics, Fusion Energy Sciences, Advanced
Scientific and Computing Research, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy,
Environmental Management, and Nonproliferation and National Security. The SBIR Web site can be visited at the
following address:
http://sbir.er.doe.gov/sbir/
Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR)
STTR is similar to SBIR in that both programs seek to increase the participation of small businesses in
Federal R&D and to increase private sector commercialization of technology developed through Federal R&D. The
unique feature of the STTR program is that, for both Phase I and Phase II projects, at least 40% of the work must be
performed by the small business and at least 30% of the work must be performed by a non-profit research institution.
Such institutions include Federally funded research and development centers (for example, DOE national laboratories),
universities, non-profit hospitals, and other non-profits. The STTR Web site can be visited at the following address.
http://sbir.er.doe.gov/sbir/
Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT)
OIT provides funding and commercialization training to develop energy-saving inventions, with particular attention to
assisting individual inventors and small companies. The programs fill a very real void for independent and small
business inventors in need of credibility and pre-venture capital. The OIT Web page, http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/, provides
links, among others, to:
Inventions and Innovation (I&I)
I&I provides financial assistance at two levels: up to $40,000 or up to $200,000 – depending on the stage of development
– for establishing technical performance and conducting early development of innovative ideas and inventions. Ideas
that have a significant energy savings impact and future commercial market potential are chosen for financial support
through a competitive solicitation process. You can visit the I&I Web site at:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/inventions/
National Industrial Competitiveness through Energy, Environment, and Economics (NICE3 )
NICE3 provides funding to state and industry partnerships (large and small business) for projects that develop and
demonstrate advances in energy efficiency and clean production technologies. Industry applicants must submit project
proposals through a state energy, pollution prevention, or business development office. State and Industry partnerships
are eligible to receive a one-time grant of up to $525,000. The industrial partner may receive a maximum of $500,000
in federal funding. The non-federal cost share must be at least 50% of the total cost of the project. In total, NICE 3
has sponsored 91 projects, with more than half going to small businesses. NICE 3 has leveraged $26.3 million in federal
funds, with $81.8 million in state and industry funds since 1991. You can visit the I&I Web site at:
http://www.oit.doe.gov/nice3/
The I&I and NICE3 programs are conducted as part of the mission of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to develop and promote the adoption of cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies within the building, industrial, transportation, and power sectors for the benefit of economic competitiveness, energy security, and environmental quality of the nation.
User Facilities and Technology
Transfer Offices
The National Laboratories under the stewardship of the Department of Energy conduct research in a variety of scientific and technical fields and operate unique scientific facilities for the public benefit. Viewed as a system, these laboratories – Ames Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratoies, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility – offer a comprehensive resource for research collaborations. These uniquely sophisticated facilities allow scientists, and thousands of visiting researchers from academia and industry, to push the boundaries of knowledge and technology. Each Laboratory has a frequently updated Web site that links to detailed facilities descriptions, as well as links to technology transfer offices and points of contact.
Ames Laboratory
http://www.ameslab.gov/research/index.html
http://www.ameslab.gov/Techtransfer/index.html
Argonne National Laboratory
http://www.anl.gov/OPA/rchfac.htm
http://www.techtransfer.anl.gov/
Brookhaven National Laboratory
http://www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/facilities.html
http://www.bnl.gov/techxfer/tech_transfer.html
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
http://www.fnal.gov/
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory
http://www.inel.gov/techtransfer/
http://www.inel.gov/capabilities/
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
http://www.lbl.gov/Workplace/working-with-us.html
http://www.lbl.gov/LBL-Programs/index.html
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/10org/centers.html
http://www.llnl.gov/llnl/001index/01opp-index.html
Los Alamos National Laboratory
http://www.lanl.gov/science/, http://ext.lanl.gov/partnerships/
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
http://www.nrel.gov/
http://www.nrel.gov/learning.html
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/
http://www.ornl.gov/adm/tted/TechnologyTransfer.htm
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
http://www.pnl.gov/main/business/index.html
http://www.pnl.gov/edo/
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
http://pst.pppl.gov/tt/
http://www.pppl.gov/projects/pages/projects.html
Sandia National Laboratories
http://www.sandia.gov/capabilities/index.html
http://www.sandia.gov/programs/index.html
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
http://www.slac.stanford.edu/
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
http://www.jlab.org/business.html
http://www.jlab.org/researchers.html