Good partnerships that lead to great companies and products are at the heart of the Innovation and Partnerships Office. Seurat Technologies, LLNL licensee and valued partner, published their origin story and credits their beginning to innovation at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. 

As part of the Bay Area Lab Innovation Networking Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Labs, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory gave industry leaders insight on how to harness the technologies, tools and capabilities within some of the nation’s premier science and technology research institutions.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists and engineers have secured major grants through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund. Two of the projects are related to combustion, two focus on advanced alloys and one deals with development work to provide upgraded nuclear radiation shielding.

Researchers from ten national labs came together for a virtual showcase of Department of Energy (DOE) innovation when scientists pitched their business model ideas to seasoned investors and competed for a $25,000 prize for work to advance commercialization. The National Lab Accelerator Pitch Event, something like the “Shark Tank” television program, is a competition format and a rare opportunity for the business community to learn firsthand about the diverse science and technology across the DOE national laboratory complex.

The High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Program, managed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, is seeking new industry proposals for short-term projects that could benefit from world-class DOE high performance computing and expertise.

Two teams of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have garnered regional awards for technology transfer. The first award is for Outstanding Technology Development involving a new approach to manufacturing microcapsules. The second award, for Outstanding Partnership, recognizes a partnership between LLNL and BioMedInnovations, LLC, which resulted in the creation of a portable and less expensive emergency ventilator built with “off the shelf” parts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced two rounds of awards for the High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation Program (HPC4EI), including five projects at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). HPC4EI connects industry with the computational resources and expertise of the DOE national laboratories to solve challenges in manufacturing, accelerate discovery and adoption of new materials and improve energy efficiency. The five projects involve additive manufacturing, aluminum sheet metal processing, heat-treatment processes for gas turbine parts, lithium-ion batteries, and improving efficiencies in energy producing turbines.

The trade journal R&D World Magazine announced the winners of the awards, often called the “Oscars of invention,” during a virtual event and on the magazine’s website. This year’s LLNL award is for a new technique called Versatile Cold Spray (VCS) that has been developed through a partnership of LLNL and TTEC Thermoelectric Technologies, a Berryville, Virginia-based company. The new VCS technique deposits a broad range of brittle and glassy materials, including functional materials such as thermoelectric devices and magnets, onto any substrate.

After more than two years of joint research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Total and Stanford University are releasing an open-source, high-performance simulator for large-scale geological carbon dioxide (CO₂) storage. The GEOSX simulator will enable researchers around the world to build on the work of the three partners, providing an open framework to accelerate the development of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies.

LLNL and three Lab employees have garnered a national technology transfer award for the creation of the LLNL’s Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory (AML). The “best in class” award, from the Department of Energy’s Technology Transfer Working Group, marks the second straight year that LLNL has won a TTWG “best in class” honor

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) technology transfer team has opened up multiple fronts to aid the nation’s efforts against the virus that causes COVID-19. IPO is investing in technology maturation and granting royalty-free, non-exclusive licenses for LLNL technologies that could be used against the pandemic.

LLNL researchers and collaborators have used an additive manufacturing technique, called cold-spray deposition, to create thermoelectric generators that can harvest waste heat - a huge untapped resource - from previously inaccessible sources. LLNL is working in collaboration with industrial partner TTEC Thermoelectric Technologies as part of the Technology Commercialization Funds (TCF) program funded by the Department of Energy.

At a time when international cooperation can offer significant benefits, the cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) signed between Argon Electronics UK Ltd and LLNL to utilize Livermore’s Radiation Field Training Simulator (RaFTS) technology, promises to both bolster and re-envision the delivery of realistic hands-on CBRNe training.

The IPO-hosted National Lab Accelerator Pitch Event, held Sept. 25, angel investors and venture capitalists to watch twelve national lab participants pitch their technologies having the most potential to move from lab-to-market and make a significant market impact. Scott Compel, who had been an LLNL postdoc for the past two and a half years, and Erika Suzuki, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, tied for first place in the competition.

IPO began matching LLNL researchers with FedTech entrepreneurs in 2018. The FedTech program works with recruited entrepreneurs to build business models around federal intellectual property. Timo Bremer, one of LLNL’s researchers to participate in the program said, “I think it’s an excellent program and that more researchers should participate. I found the program to be beneficial and I’d do it again.”

"IPO is proud of the increased support of industry in partnering on Technology Commercialization Fund project. These achievements reflect the value of the TCF program to the Lab and demonstrate that energy-related research at LLNL is both important and relevant to industry," said Rich Rankin, leader of the Lab's Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO).

Stephen Azevedo developed a presentation about LLNL's micropower impulse radar (MIR) development, applied science and industrial licensing. This exciting project was done in conjunction with IPO for the NNSA Strategic Partnership Program and highlighted at the Smithsonian's Military Invention Day.

The HPC4Manufacturing program funds LLNL researchers to work with companies and address an industrial need. A CRADA with Applied Materials to improve thin film deposition is an example of the impact of this program.

Nine public/private projects were awarded more than $2 million from the Department of Energy (DOE). "We see increasing interest by both industry and the DOE Applied Energy Offices to leverage the world-class computational capabilities of leading national laboratories to address the significant challenges in improving the efficiency of our national energy footprint," said HPC4EI Director Robin Miles.

LLNL won six Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) grant awards from the DOE Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). "Technology transfer is an essential component of our mission at DOE, helping ensure we deliver the maximum return on the investment of the American taxpayer," Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said.

Jack Regan, former LLNL scientist and current CEO of LLNL licensee Lexagene, announced a commercialization milestone--the placement of a rapid pathogen identification prototype instrument in a veterinary hospital.

LLNL licensee, Shape Memory Medical Inc., announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the US FDA for its IMPEDE-FX Embolization Plug. The IMPEDE product family features a proprietary Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) initially developed at LLNL.

LLNL is collaborating with Artveoli to develop technology which can capture CO2 from building interiors. This device would be so versatile that it could be inconspicuously placed in a room as a piece of wall art. LLNL and Artveoli signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) and received a grant through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund to bring the technology to market.

The Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Excellence in Technology Transfer Award recognizes the impactful technical work of the research team as well as the dedicated work by IPO technology transfer professionals in transferring the technology for commercialization by industrial partner, ThermoFisher.

On April 9 IPO hosted a day at LLNL where officials from the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy joined representatives from more than two dozen private companies to highlight technologies and encourage future public-private partnerships.

Enterprise Security magazine awarded nVIAsoft a great honor. nVIAsoft is a startup utilizing lab technology to provide biometric identity solutions—"the world's first contactless biometric in your very hand".

IPO is proud to be part of LLNL's recognition by the East Bay Economic Development Agency as a major influence in the East Bay innovation ecosystem. "LLNL licensed technologies have enabled the launch of numerous new businesses that are helping drive economic growth locally, regionally and beyond."

We congratulate our technologists and private sector partner for winning this prestigious technology transfer award. IPO is proud of everyone involved in the win: Tom Slezak, Michael Shapero, Crystal Jaing, Shea Gardner, Kevin McLoughlin, James Thissen, Ida Shum, Catherine Elizondo, Kevin Christopher, and Yash Vaishnav.

A new aluminum alloy developed by LLNL and ORNL and transferred to Eck Industries continues to make important strides in improving strength in high heat environments.

IPO supports regional economic development and is proud of the incredible reach LLNL technology has in bolstering the Tri-Valley economy.

Recognition by your peers is a satisfying reward. Building and supporting the ATOM consortium has been a big success for IPO. Congratulations Candice, Charity and Quentin!

Many of LLNL's commercialization successes are highlighted in a riveting article in Physics Today about moving lab technology out to the marketplace.

An ongoing Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) project with Eaton Corporation is producing great results for grid planning. IPO is proud to present this private sector collaboration at the Innovation XLab Grid Modernization Summit January 24-25.

LexaGene has received another honor on its road to providing a pathogen identification product for food and beverage processing facilities. The company has licensed and continues commercialization of LLNL technology for food safety.

Business models were built around two LLNL technologies as part of the latest FedTech cohort. FedTech is a DC-based accelerator that provides training to burgeoning entrepreneurs with the goal of building companies around federally developed technologies. Timo Bremer and Jacqueline Peila each worked with entrepreneurial teams for two months to understand markets and startup opportunities.

DOE's High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Initiative released a call for proposals seeking American companies interested in collaborating with DOE's national laboratories on one-year projects to apply high-performance computing (HPC) modeling, simulation and data analysis to key challenges in U.S. manufacturing and material development.

LLNL researchers have been awarded five Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) grants from DOE's Office of Technology Transitions (OTT). The work these grants fund will mature lab technology making them commercialization-ready.

Congratulations to LLNL licensee, SafeTraces, for closing a financing round to continue efforts to bring LLNL's technology to market providing a food traceability solution for agricultural producers.

LLNL licensee Shape Memory Medical hits a major milestone in road to commercialization.

LLNL licensee, SafeTraces, has hit a major fundraising milestone in their journey to commercialize lab technology, DNATrax.

The Livermore team, in collaboration with Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, have demonstrated the potential and real life utility of the microarray technique for broad-spectrum pathogen detection in clinical samples. Their results are published in the online journal PLoS ONE.