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Innovation Crossroads Fellows pitch tomorrow’s breakthroughs at Demo Day

Group photo of 2023 Innovation Crossroads Fellows and staff. Image from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Innovation Crossroads Fellows and staff joined LEEP participants from other national labs at Berkley Commons. From left to right, Kelly Wampler, Dan Miller, Sarah Jordan, Marouane Salhi, Md Arifuzzaman, Dan Lee, Manas Pathak and Shantonio Birch. Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

 

Fellows and staff of , a Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node at Department of Energy’s 91, joined representatives from across government, academia and the startup ecosystem at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for , organized by Cyclotron Road, on Wednesday, May 21.

Innovation Crossroads Fellows are early career energy and manufacturing entrepreneurs who are selected for a two-year program that connects them with ORNL resources and provides mentorship in marketing and entrepreneurship.

Rajan Kumar, Ateios Systems, speaks during the panel discussion. Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Panelist Rajan Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of Ateios Systems, speaks during the panel discussion “Alumni Impact over 10 years”. Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

“Innovation Crossroads startups are accelerating the journey of scientific and technical innovations into the market,” said Dan Miller, Innovation Crossroads program director. “Participants bring new ideas into ORNL labs and facilities, contributing to the culture of curiosity and problem solving that fuels the work done at ORNL.”

Alumni shared successes, including Rajan Kumar of Ateois Systems. Ateois Systems recently won a as part of the TitletownTech Startup Draft to accelerate production of battery electrodes without toxic solvents or forever chemicals.

Other Innovation Crossroads Fellows who shared their work in pitch sessions include:

  • Md Arifuzzaman, , which combats the problem of plastic waste by turning mixed plastics into new materials.
  • Shantonio Birch, , which addresses energy inefficiency in existing buildings with minimally invasive solutions
  • Sarah Jordan, , which uses additive manufacturing evaporative casting to advance manufacturing. .
  • Dan Lee, , a composite manufacturing startup, which recently won the  on March 4.
  • Manas Pathak, , which is developing long-duration energy storage.
  • Marouane Salhi, , which works to advance quantum optimization technology for the energy sector.
Brad Chadwell, Tennessee Valley Authority, speaks at Demo Day. Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Brad Chadwell, Director of Enterprise Research and Innovation at Tennessee Valley Authority, which supports Innovation Crossroads, speaks at Demo Day. Credit: Thor Swift/Berkeley Lab The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Since its first cohort in 2017, Innovation Crossroads has supported over 45 startups, which have gone on to create more than 320 jobs nationally, nearly $34 million in sales and $247 million in post-program funding.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit . — Brynn Downing