At the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in Princeton, N.J., $5 million of the $13.8 million in earmarked stimulus funding went toward infrastructure improvements. Adam Cohen, deputy lab director, says that facility and equipment upgrades will accelerate the lab's research capabilities in understanding magnetic fusion. He says the technology is still years away from the marketplace but that it can be theoretically proven by scientists. “It's not because of lack of understanding or solutions that we're not making progress,” Cohen points out. “It's really lack of a facility.”

In the interim, Cohen and other lab officials say that many innovations will likely result from government R&D spending and could create value for consumers and the private sector. While the national labs are the largest funders of science research aimed at discovering the fundamental nature of the universe, many innovations arise unintentionally. For example, the Fermi lab established the first web address in the U.S. as a result of its Geneva, Switzerland, sister lab developing the world wide web, he points out.

Better R&D Transfer

Technology transfer—a process that allows for a private enterprise to commercialize a technology developed by a university or government facility—has long been an industry practice. However, DOE's national labs have been less visible in some business realms.

Before an industry colleague informed him, Bob Forcier—who founded Phoenix-based RSL Energy with the idea of incubating businesses that could improve the quality of life—was unaware of the labs' R&D activity.

After perusing DOE's website and meeting with its tech-transfer and scientific staff, Forcier learned of a high-efficiency solar-cell technology being developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., and licensed it. Since his company was small, he also worked with the national lab to outsource research, called “sponsored research,” over the next few years. He expects to launch the product in about 18 months.

“DOE can really provide the technology road map that can allow small companies more fruitful commercialization,” Forcier points out, adding that the agency plays an important role “as a catalyst.”

Other energy start-ups focused on clean technology are tapping into government labs. “We have certainly seen in the last couple of years a massive increase in interest on part of the private sector in energy technologies,” says Cheryl Fragiadakis, head of technology transfer at the Lawrence Berkeley lab. “We've seen far more inquiries regarding energy technologies than in the past.”

The national labs can boast of many success stories on the energy front. Most recently, General Motors Corp. is using battery technology developed at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois to steer the new Chevrolet Volt.

“Industry doesn't do that much basic or applied research, so having [the national labs] is tremendous,” says Deborah Clayton, director of technology development and commercialization at the Argonne lab.

Fragiadakis thinks that more can be done to reach out to potential entrepreneurs, start-ups and private-sector players. Last May, she organized an “energy innovation showcase” that linked lab scientists with investors and entrepreneurs. According to Fragiadakis, some participants said they would like to come back as often as every six months to learn about new scientific developments. “It was pretty clear that we need to do more of this,” she says.

Stimulus Construction