New Habitats for Hard Technology?

Modern technology has enabled massive innovation in our models for developing and scaling digital technologies, but the institutional ecosystem for advancing physical science innovations remains highly constrained. To support top technology innovators in addressing the world’s most pressing problems, we need to build new habitats for hard technology: environments that leverage the best aspects of academia, corporations, and startups, while minimizing their constraints on the innovation process. 
 
Cyclotron Road is creating a new institutional home to bridge the science-to-product gap for advanced energy technologies. Our goal is to define a new innovation pathway by coupling top entrepreneurial innovators with one of the world’s elite research institutions, Berkeley Lab. The result: a lean innovation model that allows physical science innovators to efficiently explore and validate technical opportunities while aggressively searching for viable commercial pathways to bring their idea to scale. 

Presenter(s)

Ilan Gur is the Director of Cyclotron Road, a new innovation platform for breakthrough energy technologies at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. Cyclotron Road recruits the world’s top technology innovators, lets them leverage capital and cutting-edge equipment, and surrounds them with an unparalleled network of experts, commercial partners, and financiers. The goal: support critical technology development while identifying the most suitable business models, partners, and financing mechanisms for long-term impact. Prior to founding Cyclotron Road, Ilan completed an appointment as Program Director at the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), where he funded and managed a ~$50 million portfolio of advanced R&D projects in the areas of energy storage, solar energy, and advanced materials. He also served as cofounder and senior advisor of ARPA-E's Technology-to-Market program, aimed at maximizing the commercial and societal impact of the agency's breakthrough R&D portfolio. Prior to ARPA-E, Ilan launched two venture-backed clean energy startups based on advanced materials and novel manufacturing approaches. He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.