On September 10, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 solicitation for the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) supported by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). This is the fifth annual TCF solicitation since 2016. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the TCF to promote DOE National Laboratories’ promising energy technologies and expands DOE’s efforts to catalyze the commercial impact of the Department’s portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities. 

DOE Facilities—its National Laboratories, Plants, and Sites— are the only eligible to applicants to the TCF. Applicants may propose projects under one of two topic areas per project. Topic 1 projects range from 6-18 months and may but are not required to involve a partner. Topic 2 projects range from 12-36 months and must involve a partner in the private sector. The deadline to submit Proposal Eligibility Declarations is October 10, 2019 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, and the deadline to submit Full Proposals is December 12, 2019 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. DOE expects to make selection notifications in spring 2020.

The TCF enables DOE’s applied energy program offices to pursue a strategic, forward-looking approach to commercializing technologies developed at DOE’s National Laboratories.. Participating TCF program offices are the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), the Office of Fossil Energy (FE), the Office of Electricity (OE), and the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER).

DOE expects to make available approximately $24.1 million-$26.1 million of Federal funding for awards under this solicitation. TCF Federal funds are matched with non-Federal contributions to perform technology maturation with the intent of attracting a private partner that is willing to support the technology’s commercialization or to support cooperative development of a technology with a private partner.

In 2019, DOE announced $24 million in funding for 77 projects with project teams engaging more than 90 different partners, after receiving 160 applications during the solicitation cycle. With additional matching funds from the private sector, these projects will advance promising commercial energy technologies and strengthen partnerships between DOE’s national labs and private sector companies to deploy energy technologies to the marketplace.

To learn more about the latest TCF solicitation, please visit the TCF Resource Page.

OTT was established in 2015 to advance the economic, energy, and national security interests of the United States by expanding the commercial impact of the Department of Energy’s research and development portfolio. DOE Chief Commercialization Officer Conner Prochaska serves as OTT Director.