As part of President Obama’s Startup America Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy has launched a competition for recognizing entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of clean-energy technology.

Earlier this year, President Obama highlighted opportunities for entrepreneurial development to assist with sustainable growth and job creation. In order to incentivize American start-ups, his administration announced the Startup America Initiative, a policy program to remove hurdles facing small business entrepreneurs.

The Startup America Initiative is intended to ease the start-up process in five key ways: 1) unlocking access to capital; 2) connecting mentors; 3) reducing barriers; 4) accelerating innovation; and 5) unleashing market opportunities.

The Startup America Initiative is paired with a private program called the Startup America Partnership, a tool to help new entrepreneurs connect with established ones and find financial, marketing and workforce resources during the start-up process. Funded in part by the Kauffman Foundation and the Case Foundation, chaired by America Online co-founder Steve Case, and including Intel, Hewlett-Packard and IBM among its participants, the goal of the partnership is “to increase the number of new, high-growth firms that are creating economic growth, innovation and quality jobs.” (Examples of Startup America services and resources available to new entrepreneurs.)

As part of the Startup America Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the America’s Next Top Energy Innovator challenge to encourage entrepreneurs to focus on clean energy technologies. The challenge will make federal patents more accessible to private companies hoping to expand upon the groundwork done by National Laboratories, a system of research facilities and laboratories under the DOE’s administration.

“Our goal is simple: unleash America’s innovation machine and win the global race for the clean energy jobs of the future,” Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said in a statement summarizing the contest goals.

America’s Next Top Energy Innovator, which aims to widen career opportunities in clean energy and buttress America’s energy production, has streamlined the process for small businesses and entrepreneurs to access federal patents in many ways:

• The DOE recently launched its Energy Innovation Portal, which hosts a streamlined template option agreement for companies to submit their proposals;
• The portal site also features a searchable database of all 15,000 National Laboratories patents, any of which is available for entrepreneurial development;
• For a reduced fee of $1,000, entrepreneurs can access up to three of the available patents; this pricing plan runs from May 2 to December 15, and can save companies $10,000-$50,000 in costs; and
• Standard licensing contracts will be available for start-ups to reduce the costs of typical industry licensing agreement negotiations, while additional fees and royalties will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

As a means of encouraging participation from established companies as well as start-ups, the DOE is lowering the initial payment required to use National Laboratories facilities. Previously, companies had to make an upfront payment for 90 days of use; this upfront payment has been lowered to include the first 60 days.

Companies that demonstrate the most successful development and progress on their business plans will be showcased at the DOE’s third annual Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Energy Innovations Summit, an industry convention and technology show designed to bring together key players from across the energy sector — entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, researchers and government officials — to “share ideas for developing and deploying the next generation of clean energy technologies.”

Available patents include technology for improving solar energy use, reducing carbon emissions, enhancing water contaminant removal and many more.

Submissions for America’s Next Top Energy Innovator started a week ago and run through mid-December.

Related

White House Turns Attention to Small Biz

USPTO Debuts New Patent Fast-Track Plan

Resources

The ‘America’s Next Top Energy Innovator’ Challenge Begins Today
by Ginny Simmons
Department of Energy Blog, May 2, 2011

Department of Energy Launches ‘America’s Next Top Energy Innovator’
Department of Energy, March 29, 2011

America’s Next Top Energy Innovator
by Ginny Simmons
Department of Energy Blog, March 29, 2011

Startup America
The White House, January 31, 2011

Obama, Big business Team to Aid Entrepreneurs
by Catherine Clifford
CNN Money, Jan. 31, 2011

DOE Wants You to Be America’s Next Top Energy Innovator
by Malia Spencer
Pittsburgh Business Times, May 4, 2011