DOE selects 29 innovators from 27 startups for national lab entrepreneurship program
The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 29 innovators and entrepreneurs from 27 startups for the 2026 Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, placing participants at one of four national laboratories for mentorship, technical support, entrepreneurial training and access to research facilities.
DOE announced the cohort on July 16, 2026. The program is intended to help move technologies developed with federal research support toward commercial products and companies, with work spanning areas such as critical minerals, batteries and energy technology.
How the program works
LEEP embeds participating entrepreneurs in the national laboratory system. The fellows receive access to laboratory facilities along with technical guidance and business-focused training as they work to advance their startups.
The four laboratories provide a bridge between early-stage companies and research capabilities that may be difficult for startups to access on their own. DOE describes the program as part of a broader effort to turn scientific and engineering advances into businesses.
The announcement identifies the cohort by the number of participants and startups but does not provide a complete breakdown of the 27 companies by state or laboratory. It also does not identify an individual funding amount for each startup.
Examples of the technology focus
DOE cited domestic magnesium production and the use of machine learning to discover battery-cathode materials as examples of the kinds of technology areas associated with the program.
Those examples reflect two challenges with broad economic and national implications: developing domestic sources of important industrial materials and improving the performance or development of energy-storage technologies. The program’s stated purpose is to help entrepreneurs address such technical challenges while building companies around research advances.
The selection of the 2026 cohort is a program announcement, not a declaration that the participating technologies have reached commercial deployment. The support described by DOE is aimed at development, testing, commercialization planning and company growth.
A track record of company creation
DOE says LEEP has launched more than 200 startups over its history. The department also reports that those efforts have attracted more than $6 billion in follow-on funding and created nearly 4,000 jobs.
Those figures are historical program totals rather than results attributed specifically to the 2026 cohort. The new group includes fewer startups than the cumulative number DOE says the program has helped launch, underscoring that the current selection is one stage in a longer commercialization pipeline.
Follow-on funding can help young companies continue development after an initial research phase, while job creation reflects the potential labor-market effect of turning laboratory work into operating businesses. The figures do not, by themselves, establish how much funding or how many jobs the 2026 participants will generate.
Related small-business support
DOE also operates separate Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs focused on commercialization. The department’s program information says approximately $147 million in fiscal year 2025 Phase II funding opportunities opened July 22, 2026.
Those SBIR and STTR opportunities are limited to eligible, for-profit U.S. small businesses. They are distinct from the LEEP cohort, but they illustrate the department’s broader use of programs aimed at helping small companies develop federally supported technologies.
What comes next
The selected fellows will be placed at the four national laboratories for the program’s mentorship, technical and training activities. DOE’s announcement does not set out a separate public deadline for the cohort or specify when each startup’s work will produce a commercial product.
For the companies involved, the immediate next step is participation in the laboratory-based program. Its practical significance will depend on whether the technical assistance, facilities and entrepreneurial support help move the startups’ technologies from research and development toward products and sustainable businesses.
Sources
- Department of Energy Welcomes 29 Innovators to the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program, U.S. Department of Energy
- DOE Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, U.S. Department of Energy
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