The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Spring Energy I-Corps (EIC) program continues to offer Topic 1: Pipeline Development and Topic 3: Post Energy I-Corps, in addition to the immersive training curriculum within Topic 2: Training Cohort.
Find information about selected teams and technologies for Topic 2: Training Cohort 22.
Under Topic 1, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Labs, plants, and sites propose projects aimed at increasing their researchers' participation in future training cohorts. Under Topic 3, researchers who have completed EIC’s immersive training in Topic 2 apply for additional assistance to aid in bringing their technology to market.
Topic 1: Pipeline Development
Six projects from eight National Labs were selected for FY 2026 Spring Topic 1. The selected projects aim to provide entrepreneurial training to researcher participants across the United States. Industry partners, universities, local businesses, students, and EIC alumni will provide additional resources to participants.
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) will offer Pipeline Development programming to increase the number of applicants to future Energy I-Corps cohorts. BNL will offer a workshop consisting of mini-lectures and interactive exercises covering essential entrepreneurial topics, including Product Development and Iterations, Business Model Canvas, Market Niche Analysis, Value Proposition Design and Communication, and Customer Discovery. Following the workshop, participants will receive advanced training in customer discovery and intensive pitch development. This phase will prepare them to effectively communicate their technology’s value to potential partners, investors, and collaborators. BNL will host a local pitch event, where participants will present their commercialization strategies where a committee will evaluate the pitches and select the most promising technologies for further development.
Funded by the Office of Technology Commercialization.
The Richard P. Feynman Center for Innovation at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) will execute a Design Sprint and an Energy I-Corps Lite (EICL) program to expand LANL’s commercialization pipeline and directly increase participation in future DOE Energy I-Corps training cohorts. The effort combines rapid hypothesis testing and structured customer discovery through two sequential programs: the Design Sprint to surface the most promising commercialization opportunities for LANL technologies, followed by EICL Sprints to validate problem–solution fit and prepare participants for EIC applications. Collectively, these activities create a repeatable framework for identifying and preparing Principal Investigators for EIC readiness while strengthening cross-lab learning.
Funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will conduct the FY26 Innovation Catalyst Program in partnership with National Energy Technology Laboratory, Ames National Laboratory, and Washington State University Tri-Cities. The program will provide entrepreneurial training to National Laboratory researchers, including two five-week Innovation Labs, a one-week Market Readiness Intensive, complemented by multiple 100-minute lab engagement sessions for recruitment, continuity, and mentoring. The program will create a commercialization pipeline, linking education, innovation, and new venture creation in direct support of DOE’s mission to accelerate lab-to-market transitions.
Funded by the Office of Technology Commercialization.
In collaboration with Princeton University’s National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Northeast Hub, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) will host two occurrences of the Novus workshop, a half-day introduction to the I-Corps model for lab staff and students. This program will encourage staff to take the next step towards participation in the four-week Propelus program through NSF I-Corps. PPPL will market the benefits of I-Corps (both DOE Energy I-Corps and NSF) to the lab population of staff and students. This project aims to encourage and support PPPL lab teams to apply to future Energy I-Corps cohorts.
Funded by the Office of Technology Commercialization.
Through the National Laboratory Entrepreneur Accelerator Pipeline Program (NLEAP+), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will host a two-day workshop introducing SNL participants to the Business Model Canvas, Lean LaunchPad methodology, stakeholder discovery, and the New Mexico entrepreneurial ecosystem. The program is designed to generate excitement about technology commercialization, prepare participants for Energy I-Corps, encourage an entrepreneurial mindset, and enhance the tech transfer culture within the lab.
Funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Waveguide is the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's program designed to cultivate participation in Energy I-Corps. It systematically identifies early-stage, commercially viable technologies and develops entrepreneurially-minded researchers for commercialization. The program integrates three key components: technology "scorecarding" to assess projects across commercial readiness dimensions such as market size, competitive positioning, and technical risk; market impact sprints that provide intensive engagements for validating commercial potential through structured customer discovery and developing actionable commercialization recommendations; and a Silicon Valley fireside discussion series connecting researchers with entrepreneurs and investors for real-world insights and networking opportunities.
Funded by the Office of Technology Commercialization.
Topic 3: Post Energy I-Corps
Topic 3 supports the advancement of technologies researchers took through the Topic 2 training program that demonstrated a high likelihood of commercialization. The funds are intended to cover the cost of the next actionable step in their commercialization journey and to help awardees reach their next source of more substantive funding.
Team 247: MXel from Argonne National Laboratory participated in Energy I-Corps Cohort 20 in Spring 2025. The team is developing advanced Metal/MXene-based electrical conductors for grid modernization. These conductors offer superior conductivity, strength, and self-healing capabilities. Through innovative smart manufacturing powered by machine learning and real-time monitoring, MXel ensures scalable and cost-effective MXene production. This technology enhances grid reliability, reduces operational costs, and supports sustainable energy infrastructure. Through the Topic 3 award, the team plans to establish a reproducible, cost-effective process to scale material production, develop a cable prototype, and conduct cable production cost analyses to guide further iterative optimization of material synthesis, billet production, and cable assembly processes, ensuring alignment with utility requirements.
Funded by Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.
Team 255: AutoLab from Brookhaven National Laboratory participated in Energy I-Corps Cohort 20 in Spring 2025. AutoLab is an AI-powered nanotechnology lab for scientists, engineers, and educators. It identifies and catalogs 2D material flakes in real time, analyzing size, thickness, and atomic step edges from optical microscopy images. AutoLab also automates the stacking of these flakes to fabricate semiconductor devices, replacing multiple costly tools like optical aligners and wafer saws. By integrating these functions into a compact system, AutoLab reduces cleanroom operational costs while advancing research in 2D materials and device fabrication. Through the Topic 3 award, the team plans to perform two pilots to develop a beta design package, build and install an operational prototype, and validate and consolidate the results into a final report to support additional follow-on funding and partnership efforts.
Funded by Office of Science’s Basic Energy Sciences (BES) Program.
Team 253: AMPERE from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory participated in Energy I-Corps Cohort 20 in Spring 2025. AMPERE is a 3D-printed composite copper (Cu) current collector that demonstrates superior performance in different electrochemical systems, including anode-free and Li-metal chemistries, with improved cycling stability, and capacity compared with traditional Cu foils. Through the Topic 3 award, the team plans to optimize performance under industry-relevant conditions to achieve improvement in energy retention during fast charge–discharge cycling, perform a techno-economic analysis to quantify cost and scalability advantages, and collaborate with two U.S. customers to assess manufacturing readiness and commercial potential.
Funded by the Office of Electricity.
Team 256: IgniteAM from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory participated in Energy I-Corps Cohort 20 in Spring 2025. IgniteAM is a scalable additive manufacturing solution for producing high-performance targets essential to inertial fusion energy and high-energy-density science. It addresses a key challenge in creating precision components for laser-driven fusion and experimental laser facilities, especially the fuel capsules in which the deuterium-tritium fuel is stored and later ignited upon irradiance by powerful lasers. Through the Topic 3 award, the team plans to design a prototype, develop and print the prototype, and test the prototype based on target design requirements provided by an industry partner.
Funded by the Office of Science’s Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) Program.