The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Technology Transitions (OTT), in collaboration with the Offices of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), has announced that over 170 companies will receive support to advance the commercialization of clean energy technologies through in-kind DOE-funded vouchers.
This initiative will involve nearly 60 organizations, including six National Labs, providing support valued at more than $20 million.
The Voucher Program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as part of the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). This program aims to bridge the gap between developing new technologies and commercializing them.
The program is designed to grant small businesses, local governments, and other non-traditional partners access to vetted resources and expertise needed to advance their clean energy technologies. In this recent round, voucher support was offered across 174 capabilities, including access to testing facilities and third-party subject matter expertise. The support aims to increase the adoption readiness of participating organizations and facilitate impactful clean energy technologies nationwide.
Selected organizations will receive vouchers worth up to $250,000 each across seven types of support, which include analytical assistance such as technoeconomic analyses and market readiness assessments, performance validation through testing and certification, siting/permitting support for jurisdictions, and planning for industrial decarbonization projects. Since its inception in 2023, more than 250 organizations have been selected to receive voucher support from BIL TCF opportunities across various technology areas overseen by OCED, FECM, and EERE.
Notable projects include Carbon Solutions, LLC (MN) providing community engagement support for Mote (CA), which focuses on converting biomass waste to clean hydrogen; Oak Ridge National Laboratory (TN) assisting Last Energy Inc (DC) with material characterization; and Eighth Generation Consulting (IL) aiding the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe (VA) with siting and permitting for their clean energy project.
