Sponsors
The Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) leads the national drive to reduce energy intensity and carbon emissions by changing the way industry uses energy. ITP is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and contributes to its efforts by partnering with U.S. industry in a coordinated program of research and development, validation, and dissemination of energy efficiency technologies and operating practices.
The Community and Regional Resilience Institute operates across the full continuum of prevention, protection, response and recovery to enhance the resilience of communities and regions to significant disruptions to their infrastructure, economic and social systems. It is available to assist communities, leaders and policy makers at all levels to understand and implement policies and procedures that protect citizens, communities and regions against severe disruptions by enhancing their resilience, increasing their ability to respond and recover quickly, effectively and efficiently.
As a consortium of major Ph.D.–granting academic institutions, Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) cultivates collaborative partnerships that enhance the scientific research and education enterprise of our nation. We bring together university faculty and students to collaborate on major scientific initiatives that strengthen America’s leading edge in science and technology.
Battelle Ventures, L.P., and its affiliate fund, Innovation Valley Partners (IVP), have a combined $255 million under management for creating and accelerating the development of early-stage technology companies with breakthrough solutions to key marketplace problems. The $220-million Battelle Ventures fund - based in Princeton, N.J. - and the $35-million IVP fund - based in Knoxville, Tenn. - proportionately invest side by side in all deals, which focus on technologies in the energy & environment, health & life sciences and security sectors. The funds enjoy close relationships with the technology transfer offices of the National Laboratories that Battelle Ventures' sole limited partner, Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy.
The National Institute for Hometown Security (NIHS) engages the discovery, development and deployment of solutions that protect and preserve the critical infrastructure of the nation's communities. Through the management of a distributed research enterprise that aligns research objectives with needs identified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NIHS works with researchers from the academic community and private sector participants to develop responses to pressing critical infrastructure protection challenges. NIHS focuses on applied R&D projects that can lead to products which can be transitioned to use by first responders, private sector infrastructure owners and governmental entities.
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), comprised of more than 400 member firms, is the premier trade association that represents the U.S. venture capital industry. NVCA's mission is to foster greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S. economy, and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. The NVCA represents the public policy interests of the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its members.
The East Tennessee Economic Council (ETEC) is a regional, non-profit, membership organization created in the early 1970s to foster and diversify the federal government’s missions in East Tennessee by developing support for Oak Ridge-related programs at the local, regional, state and federal levels. In addition, ETEC supports regional economic development by encouraging new opportunities to fully utilize the highly-skilled talent, cutting edge technologies, and unique facilities that make up the Federal reservation, regional institutions, and local community.
Meritus Ventures, L.P. (Meritus) is a $36.4 million venture capital fund investing in private, expansion-stage companies in predominantly rural areas in central and southern Appalachia. Meritus is the only Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) in the United States. In addition, Meritus can provide operational assistance to portfolio companies and prospective portfolio companies. The Fund invests in Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, and the Appalachian counties of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi and has relationships with many of the technology-generating institutions in the region.
