Technology Innovation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

This video describes the goals of NREL’s Innovation and Technology Transfer activities by taking the scientific discoveries that are coming out of the lab and to transfer them to industry, to get them out into the field, and make an impact.

Transcript

00:00:01 [intro music] >>Kristin Gray: So the goals of NREL’s innovation and tech transfer activities are to take the amazing scientific discoveries that are coming out of the lab and transfer them to industry to get products on the market, new processes out in the field, and to make an impact. >>Bill Farris: NREL, by design, is a market-facing laboratory. Our goal is to conduct cutting edge research and move those innovations into the marketplace. That’s what we have done for over 30 years and that’s what we will do in the future. We rely on partnerships and collaborations to do that. That is the heart and soul of NREL. So some of the value that NREL can bring to our partners is that we have unique capabilities here at the laboratory; the federal government, the Department of Energy has made huge investments so that the

00:00:57 people, the equipment, and facilities here are unique. Our challenge is to orient those capabilities to help the private sector. >>Kristin Gray: So the kind of organizations that NREL partners with run a wide spectrum from small businesses to large businesses, government agencies, inside and outside the United States, private companies and public entities. We really pride ourselves on the diversity of partnerships that we engage in to make sure that we are well connected to the market, as well as serving the entire United States renewable energy sector. The benefits to organizations partnering with NREL are to de-risk their technology; to work with scientists, facilities, and equipment that they may not otherwise have access to. NREL has some world-class scientists, world-class facilities, and world-class capabilities to

00:01:51 which we give our partners access in a partnering agreement. The NREL research community, the scientists and engineers, have unparalleled accomplishments in publication, in innovation, in patenting, and an impact in the marketplace. The volume, and again, the quality of intellectual property, and scientific and engineering ideas coming out of the lab are unprecedented in our peers. >>David Ginley: We have a lot of capabilities at the national lab. Like all of the national labs have a lot of capabilities. And I think part of our mission is to make an impact, not just in the fields of basic science and technology but also in terms of the real impacts in society. The best way to do that is to work with companies who can take what we know or technologies we’ve developed and turn them into real marketable products.

00:02:53 [exit music]