Chain Reaction Innovations

Developing transformative energy technologies and greener manufacturing processes and materials requires more than a great idea and some committed people.

These complex science challenges require hefty capital investment, access to complex tools and facilities, and lengthy development timescales beyond the typical software startup and venture capital models.  To bridge this valley of death between the science workbench and the marketplace, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) and Argonne National Laboratory created a new innovation accelerator program for technology entrepreneurs called Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI). The program is managed by DOE’s AMO and Technology-to-Market Office and run by Argonne Laboratory.

This is the first time innovators have been given such an extensive level of support and the opportunity to be embedded in a national laboratory in the Midwest.