LabSTAR Launches to Create Opportunities for Emerging Cleantech Companies

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Bay Area National Laboratories Jointly Launch New Small Business Voucher Pilot for Emerging Cleantech Companies

LBL News Center, July 9 , 2015. Image credit: gr8effect

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories/California (SNL/CA) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has been awarded $4.15 million by the Department of Energy (DOE) to jointly launch a new small business voucher pilot.

“Our pilot, which we’ve named LabSTAR, unites three national labs—Berkeley, Sandia, and Livermore—to serve as a Bay Area ecosystem for providing access to the unique assets of the national lab system, such as basic science, prototyping, analysis, supercomputers, accelerators, and more,” said Alecia Ward, LabSTAR program lead and also head of program and business development for Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area.

The Molecular Foundry is a U.S. Department of Energy nanoscience center hosted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The Molecular Foundry is a U.S. Department of Energy nanoscience center hosted at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and could be used for collaborative research through the Small Business Voucher Pilot.

The funding is part of DOE’s $20 million investment in small business assistance, which is one component of its National Lab Impact Initiative. This initiative seeks to significantly increase the industrial impact of DOE national labs on the U.S. clean energy sector. LabSTAR, with Berkeley Lab serving as the lead, was awarded the pilot for applications in four sectors: battery technologies, fuel cell technologies, geothermal technologies, and advanced manufacturing, which could cover any technology.

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