Energy-Related Inventions Program: an overview of the evaluation
The Energy-Related Inventions Program (ERIP) is jointly administered by the US Departments of Energy and Commerce. Grants were awarded for 165 of 208 inventions recommended by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). Of the 165 inventions, 46 have been able to acquire follow-on financing from a variety of sources. Further, 35 of the inventions have reached the marketplace, and their cumulative sales to date total $178 million. An additional 10 inventions are now starting into production. Jobs that have been created directly by production related to the inventions total 756; additional spin-off jobs attributable to the inventions include component and material suppliers, jobbers, franchisees, and distributors. The program was recently evaluated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, with the following conclusions: (1) the evaluation process at NBS has been successful in identifying technically and economically feasible inventions, (2) the success rate for the program is about equivalent to the reported success rates of private venture capital firms, (3) the program is supporting inventions at a point in their development where they are supported by neither the venture capital community nor industry, and (4) the one-time DOE grants and the associated ERIP support to inventors have been successful in readying inventors for follow-on financing from the private sector.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- OSTI ID:
- 5671827
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/CON-92/V3; ON: DE84000293
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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