Energy I-Corps Spring 2027 Lab Call Now Open to DOE Innovators

Washington, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) today announced spring 2027 funding opportunities through the Energy I-Corps program. DOE National Laboratories, plants, and sites are invited to apply for funding and support designed to strengthen commercialization capabilities and accelerate the deployment of DOE-developed technologies. 

Energy I-Corps helps equip DOE researchers with the skills and perspective needed to move promising technologies closer to the market. More than 850 researchers have participated in the program to date, and technologies supported through Energy I-Corps have gone on to attract over $234 million in follow-on funding. Participants also carry what they learn back to their labs, plants, and sites, helping broaden the use of customer discovery, market analysis, and other commercialization practices across the DOE lab ecosystem. 

The lab call includes three topic areas focused on expanding commercialization knowledge and skills across the DOE enterprise, preparing researchers to better understand potential markets, and helping promising technologies move toward private-sector adoption. The following topic areas are open for applications: 

• Topic 1 — Pipeline Development: Topic 1 seeks proposals from DOE National Laboratories and DOE plants and sites for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in future Energy I-Corps Training Cohorts. Individual projects with a single DOE lab, plant, or site applicant will be considered up to a total of $100,000. Collaborative projects with at least three DOE labs, plants or sites applying together will be considered up to a total of $200,000.  
• Topic 2 — Cohort 23: This topic seeks team applications to participate in Cohort 23. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program during which they will learn commercialization skills, interview at least 75 stakeholders, and develop a business model for the market’s adoption readiness of their lab technology. Each selected team will receive $100,000 to support their participation in the training.   
• Topic 3 — Post Energy I-Corps: This topic provides an opportunity to build on and apply learnings gained through participation in Topic 2 to support continued technology advancement and progress toward commercialization. Each selected project will be funded at $100,000 for a one-year period of performance. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory, plant, or site AND 2) have gone through either an Energy I-Corps Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel).    

Additional details and the official solicitation are available on OTC Exchange. Submissions for all three topics are open through Friday, October 30, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. EDT. DOE National Laboratories, plants, and sites may submit questions to EnergyICorps@hq.doe.gov.  

About the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Commercialization 

The Department of Energy (DOE) is one of the largest champions of technology transfer and commercialization in the federal government. Congress established the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) to advance this critical mission. By unlocking the tremendous potential within the Department and its 21 National Labs, plants and sites, and catalyzing private sector investment in novel technologies, OTC is driving innovation — and with it, American energy dominance and national security. Visit us at energy.gov/otc to learn more, and subscribe to receive our latest opportunities and accomplishments via email. Follow us on X and LinkedIn.