Announcements
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Argonne technology experts welcome at CRI semi-finals
The semi-finals for the first cohort of Argonne’s new technology incubator, Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI), will take place September 13. Between 15 and 20 innovators from across the country will give a 10-minute presentation followed by a Q&A from judges. Argonne employees are invited… Read More
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Urban Business Roundtable: Chain Reaction Innovations
Chain Reaction Innovations Director Andreas Roelofs explains how entrepreneurs can apply for the incubator’s first cohort and how having access to expertise and tools at a national laboratory can accelerate innovation in the Chicago area. Listen to a podcast of the interview.
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Newsletter: CRI Updates
Call opens for first CRI cohort. Argonne joins JUMP crowdsourcing initiative to fund technology innovation and issues a call for ideas to improve humidity sensors in buildings. Read more:
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MIT report on cleantech investment touts national lab incubators
The report “Venture Capital and Cleantech: The Wrong Model for Clean Energy Innovation” put out by the MIT Energy Initiative highlights the need for increased government support of clean tech innovations. The report also points to the need to replicate the new model of incubators… Read More
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Entrepreneur Application Opens for New $4.4 Million Energy Incubator at Argonne National Laboratory
Two years’ worth of financial and technical support to grow the next big idea in energy technology in the Midwest is now a reality for the nation’s best and brightest innovators. Read more
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Energy Technology Incubator Offers 2 Years of Funding and Technical Aid
Innovators working on energy and science technologies can get two years worth of financial and technical support by applying to a new incubator at Argonne National Laboratory. The application period opened July 12 for the incubator named Chain Reaction Innovations. Applications are due by 5… Read More
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Progress on President Obama’s “Lab to Market” Initiative
Argonne National Laboratory scientist Ralph Muehleisen describes why he took the path of commercializing his technology through a startup. Muehleisen worked with Lab-Corps and entrepreneurs to market Sonic Leak Quantifier (SonicLQ) a technology that uses sound to locate air leaks in buildings and determine the… Read More
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Chain Reaction Innovations Opens the Application Process for Mentor Partners
Argonne National Laboratory believes that the impact of Chain Reaction Innovations is maximized via public-private partnerships. Argonne is seeking one or more not-for-profit, private sector or university incubator collaborators for such a partnership. Read More
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Argonne Launches First Tech Incubator
Developing transformative energy technologies and cleaner manufacturing processes and new materials requires more than a great idea and some committed people. It takes an innovation ecosystem. Read More
Latest Updates
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Five New Startups Join Argonne's Entrepreneurship Program
As Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) celebrates its 10th anniversary, the entrepreneurship program at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Argonne National Laboratory is welcoming five startup founders to its 2026 cohort. Over the next two years, the entrepreneurs will embed full time at Argonne, partnering… Read More
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Director's Letter August 2026
Dear Friends of CRI, It’s been a busy summer at Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) and a great reminder of how much our community continues to grow. We recently announced our 2026 cohort, welcoming five new startup founders to Argonne. They bring new technologies, perspectives and… Read More
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CRI to Open Recruitment for Cohort 2027
Scientists and engineers ready to take their technology from the laboratory to the marketplace will soon have a new opportunity to make that leap. Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) will open applications for its 2027 cohort on Sept. 15, 2026, offering technical founders a fellowship… Read More
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Finalists Chosen for CRI’s Cohort 2026
Eleven individuals advanced to the Finals pitch competition to join Chain Reaction Innovations’ Cohort 2026. A broad range of energy innovations are represented in this year’s applicants, including battery technologies, industrial processes, performance materials and biotechnology. The 11 startups will pitch their technology during the virtual… Read More
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2025 Startup Milestones
About CRI Startup founders and the CRI team work together to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing energy and environmental challenges through transformative science and technology. CRI support allows science startups to bring their deep tech to market more quickly. The combined total of… Read More
