II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4084 

To support the lab-embedded entrepreneurship program under the 

Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 26, 2022 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To support the lab-embedded entrepreneurship program 

under the Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Leveraging our Na5 tional Laboratories to Develop Tomorrow’s Technology 

6 Leaders Act of 2022’’. 

7 SEC. 2. LAB-EMBEDDED ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 program’’ means a program described in subsection 

3 (c). 

4 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti6 ty’’ means— 

7 (i) a National Laboratory; and 

8 (ii) an entity described in subpara9 graph (B) in partnership with a National 

10 Laboratory. 

11 (B) ENTITY DESCRIBED.—An entity re12 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) is— 

13 (i) a nonprofit organization; 

14 (ii) an institution of higher education; 

15 and 

16 (iii) any other entity that the Sec17 retary determines appropriate. 

18 (3) ENTREPRENEURIAL FELLOW.—The term 

19 ‘‘entrepreneurial fellow’’ means an individual partici20 pating in a covered program. 

21 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na22 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

23 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

24 U.S.C. 15801). 


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1 (5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

2 the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program au3 thorized under subsection (b). 

4 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Energy. 

6 (b) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a pro7 gram, to be known as the ‘‘Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur8 ship Program’’, under which the Secretary shall award 

9 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing 

10 or maintaining a covered program. 

11 (c) COVERED PROGRAMS.—An eligible entity receiv12 ing a grant under the program shall use the grant funds 

13 to establish or maintain a lab-embedded entrepreneurship 

14 program to provide entrepreneurial fellows with access to 

15 National Laboratory research facilities, expertise, and 

16 mentorship— 

17 (1) to perform research and development; and 

18 (2) to gain expertise that may be required or 

19 beneficial for the commercial application of research 

20 ideas. 

21 (d) ENTREPRENEURIAL FELLOWS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—In participating in a covered 

23 program, an entrepreneurial fellow shall be provided 

24 by an eligible entity with— 


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1 (A) opportunities for entrepreneurial train2 ing, professional development, and exposure to 

3 leaders from academia, industry, government, 

4 and finance, who may serve as advisors to or 

5 partners of an entrepreneurial fellow; 

6 (B) financial and technical support for re7 search, development, and commercial applica8 tion activities; 

9 (C) fellowship awards to cover costs of liv10 ing, health insurance, and travel stipends for 

11 the duration of the fellowship; 

12 (D) market and customer discovery oppor13 tunities; 

14 (E) engagement with external stake15 holders; and 

16 (F) any other resources determined appro17 priate by the Secretary. 

18 (2) PRIORITY.—In carrying out a covered pro19 gram, an eligible entity shall give priority to sup20 porting entrepreneurial fellows with respect to pro21 fessional development and development of a relevant 

22 technology. 

23 (3) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—In partici24 pating in a covered program, an entrepreneurial fel25 low shall retain all rights relating to intellectual 


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1 property developed by the entrepreneurial fellow 

2 through activities carried out under the covered pro3 gram. 

4 (e) PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligible entity described in 

5 subparagraph (A)(i) of subsection (a)(2) that receives a 

6 grant under the program may carry out a covered program 

7 in partnership with 1 or more entities described in sub8 paragraph (B) of that subsection. 

9 (f) METRICS.—The Secretary shall develop metrics to 

10 assess the effectiveness of each covered program in achiev11 ing the purposes of the program. 

12 (g) COORDINATION; INTERAGENCY COLLABORA13 TION.—The Secretary shall— 

14 (1) oversee the planning and coordination of 

15 grants awarded under the program; and 

16 (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies, in17 cluding the Department of Defense, regarding op18 portunities for Federal agencies to partner with cov19 ered programs. 

20 (h) BEST PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall identify 

21 and disseminate to eligible entities best practices for 

22 achieving the purposes of the program. 

23 (i) ASSESSMENTS; REPORTS.—Not later than 4 years 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre25 quently than biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) conduct an assessment of each covered pro2 gram based on the metrics developed under sub3 section (f); and 

4 (2) submit to the Committee on Energy and 

5 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

6 on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

7 Representatives a report summarizing the findings 

8 of those assessments. 

9 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

11 out this section $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

12 through 2027. 

Æ 


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