Commercializing Energy Innovations â€' a panel discussion with three Stanford founders

There are a number of pathways available for Stanford researchers to externalize aspects of their energy innovations: publications, conference presentations, industrial affiliates programs, the Office of Technology Licensing, and various entrepreneurship programs. The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy provides one such pathway through its Innovation Transfer Program that provides seed funding to very early stage teams to explore and establish the commercialization potential of their technology. Since the program’s launch in the fall of 2013, the TomKat Center has awarded ~$2M to 26 teams. The funds are typically used over a 3-12 month period to build advanced prototypes, conduct pilot studies, identify strategic partners, undertake market research, and refine business models. To date, these teams have raised over $35M in follow-on funding and other awards. Other awardee achievements include one acquisition, the formation of six revenue-generating companies, and a pilot-scale demonstration at a local waste water treatment plant. The panelists are founders of materials science based ventures and will describe their technology, the problems they aim to address, and the salient aspects of their journeys to date.

Panel: Bryce Meredig of Citrine Informatics, Nicholas Flanders of Opus12 and Richard Wang of Cuberg, moderated by Stacey Bent, Director, TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy, Chair and Professor, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University