This May marked the completion of the 20th Energy I-Corps cohort, bringing the total number of graduated teams to 258! To celebrate graduating the program, Cohort 20 teams convened in Washington, D.C. and shared their work with key stakeholders.
Office of Technology Commercialization
June 10, 2025
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This May marked the completion of the 20th Energy I-Corps (EIC) cohort, bringing the total number of graduated teams to 258. EIC, now in its 10th year, hosts a suite of efforts for National Laboratory researchers to meaningfully apply commercialization and entrepreneurial skills to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) technologies.
At the core of its three-topic structure is EIC’s Topic 2 Training Cohort, an entrepreneurial bootcamp that provides an immersive two to three-month curriculum training for DOE National Lab, plant, and site researchers to assess viable pathways to bring their DOE technology to the market.
Cohort 20 is comprised of 16 teams from the eight National Labs listed below. Teams represented technologies ranging from AI-powered nanotechnology to nuclear power plant security and grid optimization software.
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories
- Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility
Cohort 20 was supported by 11 DOE program and technical offices:
- EERE – Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office
- EERE – Industrial Technologies Office
- EERE – Vehicle Technologies Office
- EERE – Water Power Technologies Office
- EERE – Wind Energy Technologies Office
- Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
- Office of Electricity
- Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
- Office of Nuclear Energy
- Office of Science
- Office of Technology Commercialization.
“We’re so impressed with Cohort 20 and their dedication to this program,” said DOE Chief Commercialization Officer and OTC Director Anthony Pugliese. “They’ve developed strategic engagement and commercialization skills that will yield exceptional results in driving new technologies to market to help advance America’s energy dominance.”
Over the course of three months, each team conducted at least 75 interviews with potential customers and other stakeholders in their ecosystem to get a pulse on the market need for their DOE technology. Ten teams leveraged program funding to attend 10 different industry-focused conferences to help with customer interviews and attain their interview goal. Team Mxel from Argonne National Laboratory exceeded the 75-interview goal with 105 completed interviews. In total, the cohort conducted 1,268 discovery interviews, leveraging newly acquired entrepreneurial skills to drive economic growth.
Others graduated from the program with a whole new direction. Team RAPID-MIB from Idaho National Laboratory discovered that the electric utility market was not big enough and pivoted to focus on forward operating bases in the defense sector. In this way, EIC helps ensure that DOE funds National Lab research the private sector actually wants or needs.
To mark the successful completion of the program, Cohort 20 teams gathered at DOE’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The researchers began with a poster session and ended with capstone presentations to their peers, instructors, and DOE stakeholders including DOE Chief Commercialization Office and OTC Director Anthony Pugliese and OTC Chief of Staff Justin Bis and the teams’ respective funding offices. These presentations showcased the impact of the discovery interview process and valuable market insight on their technology’s path to commercialization. This also spotlighted the cohort’s ability to communicate complex scientific and market topics through approachable and compelling presentations.
Cohort 20 joins an elite group of EIC graduates. Since 2015, the group has attracted more than $197 million in post-program funding and executed 85 licenses. These achievements stand as a testament to the program’s effectiveness in driving innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and enhancing technology transfer from DOE’s National Labs.
Learn more about this exceptional group of scientists.
We congratulate the dedication of Cohort 20 and look forward to witnessing the continued impact of EIC as it empowers the next generation of America’s energy leaders.
To explore the Energy I-Corps program, visit our homepage, subscribe to receive OTC email updates, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.