The US Department of Energy is more than doubling the number of its national laboratories that are partnering with venture capital firms to bring green energy technologies to market. While DOE is still waiting to see if any new businesses will be spawned by a first round of “entrepreneur-in-residence” agreements initiated earlier this year at three of the labs, the department in November invited venture capital firms to bid for the opportunity to place an EIR in five others. The winning firms will hire an entrepreneur to work at one of the labs for up to a year, looking for renewable energy and energy-saving technologies that are ripe to spin off into commercial businesses.

“The EIR program is fundamentally changing the way we conduct business by helping our innovations reach the marketplace much faster,” Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a statement. Although the EIR has been under way since...

You do not currently have access to this content.