6. ENERGY TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATION

Programs (as described in the previous paragraph); the National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy, which facilitates co-ordination and collaboration among incubators around the country to develop best practices and improve performance standards; the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs, which offer grants to small businesses that are working on the development and commercialisation of new and innovative research; and Small Business Vouchers, which facilitate access to national labs for qualified clean energy small businesses.

Energy Investor Center

Given the size and scale of DOE funding for new, early-stage, high-potential energy technologies, the Department in 2016 created the Energy Investor Center (EIC) to establish a single access point for investors to connect with and identify investment opportunities from the DOE’s energy technology programmes and national labs. The EIC facilitates access for investors through stakeholder round tables (under the LaboratoryInvestor Knowledge Series) and through an online platform (known as the Laboratory Partnering Service). The centre also runs Innovation Interface, which conducts seminars fostering information exchange between DOE energy technology experts and investors, as well as technical assistance, in which the centre shares research and analysis from the DOE’s scientific programme managers with the investor community. The EIC falls under the authority of DOE’s OTT (DOE, 2019o).

Technology Commercialization Fund

Under Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress established the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). The fund is required to use 0.9% of the applied research funding granted to the DOE to finance applied research, development, demonstration and commercial applications of technologies that demonstrate promising potential for commercial use. Based on this level, the TCF provided around USD 20 million in funding in 2018 for 64 projects, with additional (required) 50% matching funds from the private sector (DOE, 2018). The projects are divided into two topic areas: projects that identify additional maturation of technology to attract private investment and projects that identify co-operation potential between lab-developed technology and private partners to improve commercial application. In 2018, funding was awarded to projects ranging from smart EV charging adapters to integrated thermal energy storage with co-generation systems and advanced biofuels solutions (NREL, 2019). Overall, the TCF helps move energy technology projects towards commercialisation.

STEM

In order to support its mission, the DOE also runs a programme called STEM Rising, which supports education and training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for students, teachers and the energy workforce.

International collaborations

Through its prominent role in international forums such as the IEA, the United States undertakes a number of international collaborations on energy RD&D, under the responsibility of the DOE’s Office of International Affairs. In particular, the United States is an active contributor to IEA TCPs, participating in 37 out of 38 TCPs, the highest of any IEA member country (IEA, 2019a). The United States is also co-leading the

120

IEA. All rights reserved.