On Sept. 29, 2021, the National Lab Accelerator Pitch Event showcased the vast technology ready for commercialization at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories.

The culmination of the DOE Office of Technology Transitions program was an exciting competition where 11 researchers pitched commercialization business models to seasoned investors. The judges, Randy Williams and Nick Henderson, from Keiretsu Forum, Les Schmidt from BRIIA, and Kurt Peterson from Band of Angels, brought experienced perspectives to the table as high tech executives who invest their time and money into cutting edge startup companies and technologies.

Over the past year, scientists and engineers from DOE's national labs across the United States have developed business models and pitch presentations for innovations developed at their respective labs. The technologies presented cover a wide range of important topics from cures to combat antibiotic resistance to commercializing bio-based non-isocyanate polyurethanes. The pitches can be viewed on the LLNL Innovation and Partnerships Office YouTube channel.

The National Labs Accelerator program creates value for the U.S. economy by speeding up the transfer of new technologies developed at national labs to the private sector. The recent event presented by the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in collaboration with the national labs was a resounding success, bringing together the minds of ingenious researchers and engineers with big plans for the future.

Two winners have been announced, Chang-Yong Nam from Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Brooke Harmon from Sandia National Laboratory. Chang-Yong Nam presented VIPP: Vapor-Infiltration Photoresist Process Technology for Next-Generation Semiconductor Manufacturing by Extreme (EUV) Lithography to solve organic photoresists poor EUV sensitivity and etch resistance. Brooke Harmon pitched Platform for Discovery, Design, and Engineering of Antibody Therapeutics for Emerging Viruses to address challenges associated with conventional antibodies as therapeutics.

"I am exceptionally proud of the winners of the National Lab Accelerator Pitch Event," said Vanessa Chan, chief commercialization officer and director of the Office of Technology Transitions at DOE. "Everyone who has participated in this program and event has led us to furthering projects necessary for the development of our current systems. Through their efforts, we further expand commercialization activities by utilizing the ingenuity of our national labs."

Technology created by all of the researchers and engineers involved at national labs is helping to shape our systems into a safer and more efficient future.