The Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) is issuing this lab call to solicit proposals for the Energy I-Corps (EIC) program. The goal of EIC is to train researchers at DOE National Laboratories, and DOE plants, and sites to identify market pathways for their technology. This call solicits proposals from DOE National Laboratory, plant, and site technology transfer offices to participate in EIC, for researchers to develop skills in commercialization, and to investigate the market potential for DOE-funded technologies at a critical juncture on the path toward commercialization.

DOE expects to select EIC projects in the following three topics:

Topic 1: EIC Pipeline Development - This topic seeks proposals for projects and programming that have the potential to directly increase participation in EIC Training Cohorts (Topic 2) in future EIC lab calls.

Topic 2: EIC Training Cohort (Cohort 23) - This topic seeks team applications to participate in EIC Cohort 23. Selected teams of researchers will participate in an intensive two-month, curriculum-based program to learn the principles of the business model canvas, define value proposition, and identify customer segments. Teams will develop hypotheses on these elements and interview at least 75 stakeholders as part of the customer discovery process to iterate on their business model canvas and to better understand the market’s adoption readiness of the lab technology.

*Only for Topic 2*: Apply via MS Forms. Nothing needs to be submitted to DOE Exchange. Upon completion of the Topic 2 application form, applicants must also email a single slide project summary to energyicorps@hq.doe.gov. Please see Topic 2 single slide template within the lab call "Documents" section.

Link to Topic 2 Application Form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/EceHwTxM2v 

Topic 3: Post EIC - This Topic is an opportunity to continue advancing EIC Topic 2 technologies toward commercialization. The technology must 1) be from a DOE Laboratory or DOE plant or site AND 2) have gone through either EIC Training Cohort (Topic 2) or the U.S. National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps. EIC Training Cohort graduates and non-graduates can apply to this topic. However, non-graduates are limited to individuals who are employed by or have a contractual relationship with a DOE National Lab, DOE plant or site (e.g. Technology Transfer Office personnel).

The deadline to apply to all three topics is Friday, October 30, 2026 at 3:00 PM (ET)