Fellows Selected for Berkeley Lab Innovation Development Program
A new cohort of technology entrepreneurs will begin a unique two-year technology development program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory through a program supported by a California Energy Commission grant.
The Cyclotron Road Fellowship Program helps innovators turn their ideas from concepts to a viable first product. Participants receive financing, collaborative opportunities with leading scientists and access to the vast resources of a world-renowned laboratory. They also receive mentoring and coaching to develop the skills needed to lead a technology company, create pathways for commercializing products, raise capital, and build a business case.
The fellowship program was created in 2014 to help innovators avoid the “valley of death” – a lack of funding or access to resources – that Cyclotron Road founder Ilan Gur says prevents many promising innovations from reaching the commercial market.
Researchers, scientists and engineers are recruited for the program from around the world, but only a few are selected. Of the 175 applicants for the latest cohort, only 13 were chosen.
Cyclotron Road is supported by the Energy Commission’s Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program, which funds clean energy research and development. The Energy Commission’s support has allowed the program to accept more innovators than in years past and expand the suite of services offered to innovators.
Funding also comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Since 2015, the fellowship program has awarded more than $13 million to innovators who have generated more than $48 million in early stage funding to support their projects.
The program is part of the Energy Commission’s Energy Innovation Ecosystem, a statewide network connecting entrepreneurs with the training, resources, and expertise to turn advanced technologies and concepts into viable products that can benefit consumers, companies, and utilities.
Photo courtesy of Cyclotron Road
