Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF)

TCF CLIMR Commercialization Enabling Topic Lab Call

Supports national laboratory teams advancing commercialization of market-ready energy technologies.

The FY2026 Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) Base Core Laboratory Infrastructure for Market Readiness (CLIMR) Lab Call is a competitive funding opportunity for DOE National Laboratories to advance commercialization-enabling activities for market-ready energy technologies. The TCF was established by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and is funded through a 0.9 percent statutory set-aside from applied energy R&D appropriations, supplemented by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act allocations. The FY2025 cycle awarded $35 million across 42 projects, with $21 million in cost-share from partners, for a combined program investment of approximately $57.5 million. The FY2026 CLIMR Lab Call was issued February 18, 2026.

DOE National Laboratories, plants, and sites are the primary applicants; external companies, universities, and other non-lab organizations cannot apply directly but participate as teaming partners through the DOE CMEI eXCHANGE Teaming Partner List at eere-exchange.energy.gov. The concept paper deadline of April 1, 2026 has passed; the full application deadline is June 16, 2026, at 3:00 PM ET. A reviewer comments period runs July 16–21, 2026. A second FY2026 Lab Call covering Technology Specific Topics is planned for later release. FY2026 funding levels have not been separately specified, but FY2025 results provide the primary reference point.

For industry applicants seeking to partner on TCF projects, the recommended entry point is identifying a DOE National Laboratory Technology Transfer Office (TTO) with relevant research capabilities and registering on the CMEI eXCHANGE Teaming Partner List well before the June 16 full application deadline. Cost-sharing is a structural feature of TCF projects, as demonstrated by the $21 million industry contribution in FY2025. Organizations in advanced manufacturing, energy storage, clean power, and related sectors that have technologies with demonstrated commercial potential and a willing national lab partner are the primary target profile.