Tag Archives: Innovation Crossroads cohort three

Innovation Crossroads opens applications for cohort four, hosts informational webinars

Innovation Crossroads is an Oak Ridge National Laboratory program that matches aspiring energy entrepreneurs with experts and mentors in technology-related fields to take their world-changing ideas from R&D to the marketplace. The program is now welcoming applications for Cohort Four and encouraging interested individuals to sign up for informational webinars.

Seven entrepreneurs will be chosen for this cohort, where sponsors include DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Specific topics of interest identified by DOE’s AMO and TVA include technologies in Energy and Advanced Manufacturing and Shared Integrated Grid, respectively. 

Applicants whose technology doesn’t fall under the aforementioned categories are still encouraged to apply. To learn more about the program’s benefits, application process and more, sign up for an informational webinar at one of the following times:

  • Friday, September 20th at 2:30 p.m. ET
  • Wednesday, October 9th at 2:30 p.m. ET
  • Thursday, October 24th at 2:30 p.m. ET

Selected participants will receive a two-year fellowship, lab access and research funding, and business mentors, entrepreneurial training, and networking opportunities. For interested applicants, here are some key dates and times to keep in mind:

  • Applications open: September 17, 2019 at 8:00 am ET
  • Applications close: October 31, 2019 at 5:00 pm ET
  • Initial application review: November 2019: Applications are reviewed by the Innovation Crossroads team, as well as scientific and industry subject matter experts
  • Phone interviews: December 2019: Based on initial review, selected applicants will be invited to conduct a brief phone screen with the Innovation Crossroads team.
  • In-person interviews: January/February 2020: Interviewees will be invited to visit ORNL to tour facilities, connect with potential collaborators, principal investigators and mentors, and present for our team of reviewers.
  • Cohort four selected: March 2020
  • Cohort four starts at Innovation Crossroads: May 2020

Ready to apply? Here is the application. Contact innvcrossrds@ornl.gov if you have any questions.

Final stages near for top Innovation Crossroads cohort three applicants

Final interviews will soon be underway for the Innovation Crossroads cohort three top contenders to determine if they’ll be joining the elite program.

Innovation Crossroads is a new program based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that matches aspiring energy entrepreneurs with the experts, mentors, and networks in technology-related fields to take their world-changing ideas from R&D to the marketplace.

Just last August, the Department of Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority announced their partnership to support the third cohort of these energy entrepreneurs. For the first time, TVA will provide funding to support Innovation Crossroads fellows focusing on energy-related topics such as grid reliability and emerging technologies.

Currently, there are eight startups enrolled in the program whose founders come from some of the most prestigious universities in the nation.

In this latest cohort, up to six innovators will be selected to receive the two-year post-doctoral entrepreneurial fellowship at ORNL worth nearly $500,000 that includes stipends, vouchers for collaborative research and development at ORNL, startup business guidance and mentoring, and health and travel benefits.

During the selection process, Innovation Crossroads team leaders received a record number of 60 applications, representing 28 states and 39 universities.

The final interviews will be conducted February 27 and February 28, with on-boarding scheduled to take place in May of this year.

Several Innovation Crossroads entrepreneurs are enrolled in the Energy Mentor Network, formed by TAEBC and Launch Tennessee, to provide non-exclusive business mentoring services to the innovators.