Washington, DC - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the second cohort of innovators to join Chain Reaction Innovations, the Midwest region's first entrepreneurial research and development (R&D) program based at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the nation's first national laboratory. Six innovators were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants and will begin work at ANL in May 2018.

Chain Reaction Innovations, which brought on its first cohort of innovators in 2017, is one of DOE's Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs that embed top technical talent within national labs as entrepreneurial research fellows to advance solutions to manufacturing challenges and energy innovation. The program's dual focus on early-stage R&D and entrepreneurial development enables the innovators, selected through an open merit-based process, to transform their breakthrough ideas into U.S.-based companies. The two-year fellowship provides a cost-of-living stipend, comprehensive business development plan assistance, and up to $220,000 to use on collaborative R&D at ANL.

The Chain Reaction Innovations entrepreneurial research fellows will have access to Argonne's deep network of 1,400 multidisciplinary researchers and engineers as well as unique tools, including the Mira supercomputer and the nation's highest-energy X-ray source, the Advanced Photon Source. Through the program and partnerships with mentor organizations in the Midwest, fellows will also receive assistance with developing business strategies, conducting market research, and finding long-term financing and potential commercial partners.

The DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs are funded by the Advanced Manufacturing Office within DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and aim to address critical gaps in human capital by providing fellowships and two-year institutional homes where talented innovators are equipped with the proper resources to become first-time entrepreneurs.

EERE's Advanced Manufacturing Office supports early-stage research to advance innovation in U.S. manufacturing and promote American economic growth and energy security.