Innovation and Entrepreneurship News
Read the latest updates from NREL's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.
April 2020
News Release: $125,000 Awarded in DISCOVER Stage of Ocean Observing Prize; Launch of DEVELOP Competition
NREL announced the 11 winners of the DISCOVER Competition, the first stage of the Powering the Blue Economy: Ocean Observing Prize. Of the selected winners, 10 received $10,000 each, and one grand prizewinner received $25,000 to help accelerate the development of the marine energy sector.
March 2020
2020 Industry Growth Forum to Go on — Now in a Virtual Format
In light of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, NREL has changed the format of the 2020 Industry Growth Forum to an entirely virtual event.
NREL’s Industry Growth Forum Celebrates 25 Years
What does it take to grow the clean energy industry long-term? Former director Charlie Gay was there at the beginning – and is returning to keynote the IGF’s 25th forum. Check out the list of 40 new presenting companies, posted here.
News Release: NREL Industry Growth Forum Announces 2020 Presenting Start-Ups
More than 500 cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives are expected to attend this year's Industry Growth Forum, April 29-30, in Denver, Colorado. Among them will be 40 of the most promising start-up companies from the United States and countries around the world.
November 2019
NREL and Energy I-Corps Produce Eco-Plastics, Transportation Tech-to-Market Hopefuls
Two teams from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have been selected for the most recent cohort of the U.S. Department of Energy's "boot camp" for national-lab-based startups: Cycle, and HeadCount.
NREL’s ‘Living Laboratory’ Provides Steppingstones to Real-World Impact
The number of electric vehicles (EVs) hitting the road is increasing, and with that comes a significant challenge: developing and deploying low-cost solutions for public EV charging infrastructure. Partners such as PowerFlex are using NREL's "living laboratory" to find solutions to this and other big energy challenges.
September 2019
Unique New Prototype Brings NREL Collaborators Together
Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator member company Yotta Solar brought their behind-the-panel battery system to NREL for analysis this summer. It's a technology so new, researchers from multiple disciplines were pushed to develop next-generation evaluation techniques.
August 2019
Exploring Tomorrow's Energy Solutions, Together
NREL’s 2019 Partner Forum brought together energy industry leaders across multiple sectors to discuss today’s energy challenges and explore tomorrow’s potential solutions.
July 2019
A Global Energy GameChanger
Leveraging the innovative spirit of the world’s startup community along with Shell and NREL’s resources, expertise, and facilities, the Shell GameChanger Accelerator Powered by NREL (GCxN) identifies and helps advance emerging transformative energy technologies with the potential to significantly impact the future energy landscape.
May 2019
NREL Supports Agtech Innovation Through IN2
New cohort of five agtech companies will validate their innovations with Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
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Last Updated April 28, 2025