Commercialization at a DOE National Laboratory: A Long-Term Proposition
Technology commercialization at a national laboratory is not for wimps. It is difficult enough to successfully transfer and commercialize technology within a single company, let alone trying to bridge the cultural gap between an organization largely supported by Government research funding and private commercial companies. Much has been written about various means of improving this transfer process. One factor that can be overlooked is the persistence and continuity necessary to successfully complete the transfer and commercialization process over what is frequently a decade or more. Such is the case for two technologies developed in the mid-1990’s by scientists at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) that are only now beginning to realize their commercial potential. These technologies—the Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS) Collision/Reaction Cell (CRC) technology and the Electrodynamic Ion Funnel—have advanced the analysis capabilities of mass spectrometer instruments sold and utilized worldwide. Their transfer and commercialization illustrate the long and twisted path that many technologies take in going from an idea in a government-funded laboratory to a product in the commercial marketplace. The time from development to commercialization of the two technologies described in this paper was seven and 10 years. In an environment where quick results and impact are sought and expected, the inventing scientists had to keep their efforts going through creative means, thin funding cycles and wavering levels of internal and external support. The researchers persisted because of their fundamental belief that the technologies were viable and that practical (commercial) implementation would one day be possible. Such persistence is particularly needed in national laboratories and universities, where technology commercialization is an ancillary by-product, rather than a primary goal of the institution. In the cases described here, the continuity in the inventors’ vision was matched by similar continuity in the business and licensing component of their institution. Both technologies were ultimately successful, realizing commercial interest (licensing) and incorporation into a number of instruments that are now available to the scientific community. Along the way, both technologies received R&D 100 Awards from R&D Magazine, which recognizes the top 100 technological innovations annually. The technologies also earned Federal Laboratory Consortium Awards for excellence in technology transfer. The technology evolution paths were long and tortuous, however, and are still playing out a decade later. Many technology developments are like this - they only realize success after initial failure or lack of interest and subsequent retooling and refinement. In the absence of such persistence, many other ideas and technologies die a premature death. The technologies also demonstrate that, when a commercial success is realized, it is frequently not recognized that the success is a result of investments, actions and decisions that were made many years in the past.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 953375
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-52598; TRN: US200915%%47
- Journal Information:
- LES Nouvelles, XLII(3):497-500, Vol. 42, Issue 3
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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