New cohort joins program that has launched more than 200 startups, attracted more than $6 billion in follow-on funding, and created nearly 4,000 jobs.
Office of Technology Commercialization
July 16, 2026
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WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the selection of 29 innovators and entrepreneurs from 27 startups for the 2026 cohort of its Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP). The selectees will participate as fellows at one of four National Laboratories where they will receive mentorship, technical support, entrepreneurial training, and access to world-class facilities to help advance next-generation technologies and strengthen America's innovation ecosystem.
This year's cohort announcement is the first since DOE aligned management of LEEP under the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), which is building on a decade of program success helping entrepreneurs launch and grow technology companies.
Since its launch in 2015, LEEP has supported 239 fellows and helped launch more than 200 startups that have attracted more than $6 billion in follow-on funding and created nearly 4,000 jobs.
"LEEP has a remarkable track record of helping entrepreneurs turn promising technologies into successful companies," said Anthony Pugliese, DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization. "By combining the capabilities of the National Laboratories with entrepreneurial talent, the program helps innovators better understand markets, reduce commercialization risk, and accelerate the path from breakthrough ideas to commercial success. We're excited to welcome this new cohort and support their journey."
During their two-year fellowships, participants will work alongside National Laboratory researchers, industry experts, investors, and commercialization professionals to refine their technologies, develop business strategies, and position their companies for long-term success.
Chain Reaction Innovations at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, is welcoming five new fellows:
- Daniel Nothaft, Uplift Geosystems LLC: Advanced bipolar membranes for bipolar electrodialysis
- Stephen Rudisill, Captis Materials: Recapturing data center waste heat with low-cost, printable thermoelectric generators
- Benjamin Rupert, PowerNaP Energy: Scale up of high energy density anode materials for sodium-ion batteries
- Emily Barber, NanoChill Technologies LLC: Advanced manufacturing and processing of engineered radiative cooling paints and coatings
- Jacob Bhoi, Aura Life Science: Reprogramming biological clocks to enable economically viable, photosynthetic biomanufacturing
Cyclotron Road at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, is welcoming 11 new fellows:
- Saurabh Malani, Fermeate Inc.: Photomolecular fermentation platform for the production of proteins for food, nutrition, and biomaterial applications
- Yashee Mathur, Hydrify: Ai-driven hydrogen exploration and resource mapping to identify optimal extraction sites, de-risk exploration, and enable low-cost hydrogen and electricity generation
- Zach Detweiler, Rareform Metals LLC: Hydrogen plasma metallization of rare earth oxides for domestic supply chains
- Charles Dove, NeoOptics, Inc.: Realizing macroscopic, broadband multi-layer metasurfaces for general imaging applications, cost-effectively and at scale
- Elizabeth Hann* & Marcus Harland-Dunaway*, Nolux Inc: Pioneering light-independent agriculture to unlock affordable, resilient food production anywhere.
- Nicolas Herard, Euler Materials: Ultralight, high damping ceramic metamaterials
- Matthew Szarzanowicz, BasidioBio: Genetically engineered agrobacterium strains for controlled and predictable plant transformation
- Lucy Wu and Edson Perez, PeraWatt Energy Inc.: Advanced magnetic materials redefining power efficiency for next-generation AI data centers, electric vehicles, and renewable energy power systems
- Bo Xu*, Gilly Inc.: Uses fungi to help cattle produce more from less feed.
*Fellow was selected and funded through Activate
Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is welcoming six new fellows:
- Ernesto Borrego, HAND Technologies: Easy, fast, cheap carbon and ceramic matrix composite manufacturing
- Eric Heikkenen, NXT MFG: Coaxial plasma additive manufacturing
- Erick Hoegberg, DiNeu Technologies: Diamond-based semiconductor detector for alpha spectrometry
- Marton Krivan, Aquafer Technologies: Scalable manufacturing of broad-spectrum PFAS adsorbent media
- David Preiss, Variable Machines: Programmable tooling
- Daniel Rau, Kunin Technologies: Electrospun ion-exchange systems for critical mineral recovery
The Tennessee Valley Authority provided additional funding for Innovation Crossroads cohort fellows.
West Gate at the National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado, is welcoming seven new fellows:
- Ryan Brow, Last Wave Energy: Ultra-thin battery current collectors for safer and more affordable transportation technologies and wearable electronics
- Boris Chubukova, Big Blue Technologies: Making magnesium (Mg) metal and aluminates in the United States from common ores to fulfill this critical mineral's demand for cement and refractories
- Roxanna Delima, Rushnu: Converts CO2 and salt from waste streams into chlorine products onsite, domestically producing chemicals below industry cost
- Evan Flitz, Orva Energy: Machine learning-driven discovery of affordable, abundant, high-energy battery cathode components
- Ryan Herz-Thyhsen, Stalagmite: Oxidation-driven technology to recover critical minerals and treat mine-impacted water
- Arzu Sandikci, Rhea's Factory: Harnessing AI-designed enzymes to convert plastic and textile waste into high-value feedstock materials
- Alexei Tcherniak, GeoKiln: Manufactures hydrogen directly underground through controlled thermal stimulation, enabling scalable energy
LEEP is managed by DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization. This year's cohort is supported by funding from the Office of Technology Commercialization, the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office, and the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response.
For more information about the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, visit DOE's LEEP webpage.