According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), eight national laboratories are participating in a pilot initiative to make it easier for private companies to utilize the laboratories' research capabilities.
The DOE says the program will harness U.S. innovation to create jobs and accelerate the development of new clean energy technologies.
Previously, companies wishing to partner with the laboratories for commercial research had two options: signing a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) or a work-for-others (WFO) agreement, says the DOE. The eight laboratories participating in this pilot program intend to offer: an agreement for commercializing technology (ACT), which the DOE says provides a third, more flexible option.
ACT was created to remove barriers that sometimes got in the way of commercializing technology under a CRADA or WFO agreement, according the DOE.
Under Act, the DOE says there will be more flexibility in negotiating the intellectual property rights for technologies created at the laboratory and participants will be able to develop a specialized arrangement that will facilitate moving the technology into the marketplace as quickly as possible.
The participating labs are:
- Ames Laboratory
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Savannah River National Laboratory
