From Mind to Marketplace: SunShot Incubator’s Latest Protégés Get to Work

Department of Energy

An idea is like a tiny seed. When planted in a creative mind and adequately fed, it takes root and flourishes. Like a seed, successfully deploying high-impact, cost-effective solar technologies requires a strong support system to facilitate its growth.

The Energy Department’s (DOE) SunShot Incubator Program provides early-stage assistance to help small businesses cross technological barriers to commercialization.  The program encourages private sector investment to maximize its impact. Since Incubator launched in 2007, $104 million in government funds has leveraged more than $1.7 billion in venture capital and private equity investment—an $18 return for every $1 of federal support.