Rep. Lipinski Spurs Launch of New Energy Program

Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to launch a new program designed to accelerate the movement of innovative clean energy technologies from the DOE’s National Laboratories into the commercial marketplace, according to a statement released Friday.

The move is part of Lipinski’s efforts to grow American jobs by taking advantage of the innovations created with the help of federally funded research. 

Built on the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program long-championed by Rep. Lipinski, Lab-Corps aims to better train and empower national lab researchers to successfully transition their discoveries into high-impact, real world technologies in the private sector. The I-Corps program was initially developed from a course conceived by Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Steve Blank, and has led to the creation of many new companies in its short existence. As the top Democrat on the Research and Technology Subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Lipinski used his leadership position to advocate for the development of this program, which will involve Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont.

“The total cost of this program is relatively modest compared to its potential value,” said Congressman Lipinski. “Just like I-Corps, Lab-Corps represents a low-cost way to take laboratory discoveries and turn them into profit-making companies and high quality jobs that boost economic growth and American competitiveness.”

Argonne is one of just five national labs that will recruit and support the Lab-Corps teams, helping new innovations reach their commercial potential. Rep. Lipinski wrote to then-Energy Secretary Steven Chu in April of last year urging him to allow scientists at Argonne to participate, and raised the issue again with current Secretary Ernest Moniz in hearings before the Science Committee.