OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

“Innovation Crossroads gives science-minded entrepreneurs access to cuttingedge tools and expertise needed to forge the way. The program fuels a young 

company’s product and business development with resources, researchers, 

and business professionals at the Laboratory, TVA, and other businesses in 

East Tennessee. In turn, this support accelerates our path from lab to market.” 

—Quantal Security Founder and CEO Erica Grant

Innovation Crossroads

Up to a 2-year 

stipend with

health and travel 

benefits

Comprehensive 

business 

mentoring 

Cohort 7 

starts in 

Summer 2023

Our innovators 

have raised more 

than $170 million 

in follow-on 

funding 

Substantial R&D 

funding provided 

by ORNL, DOE, 

and TVA

Starting new energy-related technology companies can be challenging, and that’s one reason the number of energy startups has 

declined significantly over the past decade. Innovation Crossroads is a program supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) 

Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), Building Technologies Office (BTO), and the Tennessee Valley 

Authority (TVA) that leverages Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL) unique scientific resources and capabilities and connects the 

nation’s top innovators with experts, mentors, and networks in technology-related fields to take world-changing ideas from research 

and development (R&D) to the marketplace.

Empowering Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Through an annual national call, top entrepreneurial-minded innovators are selected to join this 

2-year program. Participants receive a fellowship that covers living costs and benefits, a travel 

stipend, a substantial grant for collaborative R&D work at ORNL, and comprehensive assistance 

to build a sustainable business model.

By embedding the next generation of top technical talent within ORNL, Innovation Crossroads 

positions entrepreneurial researchers to address fundamental energy, manufacturing, and grid 

challenges identified by industry. 

National lab expertise—ORNL is DOE’s largest science and energy laboratory and is home to 

some of the nation’s most significant user facilities. Because Innovation Crossroads entrepreneurs 

work within ORNL, they have immediate access to essential tools and resources. This access 

reduces cost, risk, and R&D time, allowing researchers to focus on creating the 

next generation of game-changing technologies. 

Multidisciplinary collaboration—Innovation Crossroads participants work with 

ORNL’s renowned scientists and engineers across many disciplines, including biological and 

environmental sciences, advanced materials, neutron sciences, nuclear science and engineering, 

and high-performance computing, providing a platform for accelerating innovation.

Business mentoring assistance—Innovation Crossroads has a growing network of partners 

who offer a unique entrepreneurial and business mentoring experience. The program facilitates 

connections with industry executives, investors, entrepreneurs, and other experts from academia, 

government, and finance who can serve as advisors and mentors to help develop priorities, mature 

skills, provide guidance, and make connections to their broader networks.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy January 2023

CONTACT:

Dan Miller

Program Lead

innvcrossrds@ornl.gov

865-574-3640

One Bethel Valley Road 

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Empowering Leaders, Igniting Innovation, Launching 

Businesses 

Innovation Crossroads’ impact is far reaching as it enters its sixth year of embedding entrepreneurs at ORNL. The program has 

supported 31 start-ups that have raised $69 million in grants and awards, created over 140 jobs, raised $101.7 million in venture 

funding, and have more than $6.2 million in sales revenue. 

innovationcrossroads.

ornl.gov

Cohort 6

Bianca Bailey

Agriwater

Rajan Kumar

Ateios Systems

Alex Stiles

Vitriform3D

Anca Timofte

Holocene

Climate

Kim Tutin

Captis Aire

Cohort 5

Caleb Alexander

DayLyte Batteries

Sam Evans

Unbound Water 

Technologies

Tommy Gibbons

Hempitecture

Shuchi "SK" Khurana

Addiguru

Forrest Shriver

Sentinel Devices 

Philip Stuckey

FC Renew 

Alumni (Cohort 4)

Renee Carder

PixelEXX Systems

Danielle Castley

Becq

Joe Fortenbaugh

Actinic

Thomas Foulkes 

AquaQuant 

Laboratories

Erica Grant

Quantal 

Security 

Alumni (Cohort 3)

Jesse Claypoole

MantaPoole 

Technologies

William Fitzhugh

American 

Nanotechnologies

Hicham Ghossein 

Endeavor Composites

Alex Lewis

Electro-Active 

Technologies

Trevor McQueen

Neptune Fluid 

Flow Systems

Leila Safavi

Purist

Jesse Thornburg

Grid Fruit

Alumni (Cohort 2)

Donald DeRose

Eonix

Shane McMahon

Lux Semiconductors

Justin Nussbaum

Ascend 

Manufacturing

Megan O’Connor

Nth Cycle

Matthew Smith

TCPoly

Alumni (Cohort 1)

Anna Douglas

SkyNano Technologies

Matthew Ellis 

and Samuel Shaner

Yellowstone Energy

Mitchell Ishmael

Shift Thermal