Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF)

TCF Commercialization Enabling Topic

Administers startup and industry teams with commercialization support for TCF Commercialization Enabling in energy systems, manufacturing, and climate technology.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The DOE Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF), established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, funds partnerships between DOE National Laboratories and private-sector cost-share partners to move laboratory-developed energy technologies toward commercial deployment. The program is administered by the DOE Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). Funding comes from a statutory 0.9 percent set-aside from applied energy R&D appropriations, supplemented by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act funds. In FY2025, the TCF awarded $35 million to 42 projects, with more than $21 million in partner cost share, representing a roughly 60 percent DOE / 40 percent partner funding split.

The FY2026 call is titled the Base Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR): Commercialization Enabling Topic Lab Call, issued February 18, 2026. Concept papers were due April 1, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Full applications are due June 16, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. ET. A second FY2026 lab call covering Technology Specific Topics is planned for later in the year. The application portal is eere-exchange.energy.gov. A Reviewer Comments Period is scheduled for July 16–21, 2026. Per-project award amounts for FY2026 are not yet specified in available sources.

Only DOE National Laboratories, plants, and sites may submit proposals as lead applicants — startups, universities, and other non-laboratory organizations are not eligible to lead. Private companies, universities, and other entities participate as teaming partners through the DOE CMEI eXCHANGE Teaming Partner List. For industry teams seeking to access DOE laboratory capabilities and the TCF funding mechanism, the path is to identify a laboratory partner and request inclusion as a cost-share partner in the lab's proposal. Teams should confirm cost-share percentage requirements in the FY2026 FOA documents available on eere-exchange.energy.gov, as cost-share levels vary by project and are not fixed in the statute.