Activate Berkeley

Photo credit: Roy Kaltschmidt, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Work at the center of one of the world's foremost research and innovation ecosystems.

Over two years, fellows in Berkeley embed in the heart of the Bay Area’s world-class research ecosystem, joining a tight-knit community of innovators and benefiting from Activate’s expansive network. Fellows at Activate Berkeley collaborate with scientists at state-of-the-art National Laboratory facilities and other labs across the Bay Area, including:

• Cyclotron Road, Berkeley Lab. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is a multiprogram science lab in the national laboratory system supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Science. Through Activate’s partnership with Berkeley Lab, fellows can work hand-in-hand with leading scientists and access exceptional research facilities and tools. Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 16 Nobel Prizes and have relevant research capabilities and facilities in the following Areas: Biosciences, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Computing Sciences, Energy Technologies, Physical Sciences, and Energy Sciences such as Chemistry and Materials.

• University of California, Berkeley. A collaborative agreement with UC Berkeley offers fellows access to the university’s research labs or allows fellows to perform collaborative research with UCB researchers.

With a coalition of philanthropic partners and critical support from the Department of Energy, we identify, fund, and support fellows who are developing new processes and products in the following technology areas:

• Advanced Materials

• Improving manufacturing efficiency

• Industrial decarbonization

• Carbon capture, utilization and sequestration

• Negative emissions technologies (NET) / carbon dioxide removal (CDR)

• Lowering building carbon and energy footprints

• Solar energy

• Quantum computing

• Energy storage for supporting the electric grid

• Circularity (Re-X pathways; circular economy)

• Food, water, energy nexus

Together, we can help ensure that the U.S. will develop the products and infrastructure necessary for a resilient, sustainable, and equitable economy.

Cyclotron Road

Since 2016, Activate has partnered with Berkeley Lab’s Cyclotron Road program to support leading innovators in clean technology, advanced manufacturing, and microelectronics. Fellows have collaborated with more than 70 Berkeley Lab scientists, and the organizations they’ve founded have raised more than $1 billion in follow-on funding, hired more than 900 employees, and introduced new products across industries such as energy storage, sustainable aviation fuel, plant-based meat, and artificial intelligence. Cyclotron Road is the first of DOE’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Programs (LEEP). It has been supported by funding from several offices at the US DOE, including the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology Office (AMMTO), the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) the Building Technologies Office (BTO), the Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP).

FACILITIES, RESOURCES, AND RESEARCH AREAS

• Berkeley Lab researchers are:

  • Advancing sustainable energy and environmental solutions: Liquid Sunlight Alliance and HydroGEN research hubs; Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit biofuels and bioproduct scale-up facility

  • Creating useful new materials and devices: Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory cleanroom facility (UC Berkeley)

  • Pushing the frontiers of computing at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center scientific computing center

  • Supporting research in nanoscience, biofuels and bioproducts, and genomics at the Advanced Light Source, a soft x-ray synchrotron user facility, and other user facilities

Learn more about Berkeley Lab’s research.

UC Berkeley

Since 2017, Activate has partnered with UC Berkeley to support fellows through collaborative agreements which connect them to world-leading research resources across science and engineering disciplines.

ACTIVATE BERKELEY – BENEFITS AT A GLANCE

• Join a community of climate-tech and hard-tech innovation leaders

• A yearly living stipend up to $110,000 plus a health insurance stipend and travel allowance

• $100,000 in research funding and access to at least $100,000 in additional flexible capital

• Mentorship and support from a dedicated fellowship team

• A program of intensive entrepreneurial training

• Networking with Activate’s expansive community across sectors

Activate Berkeley Team

Berkeley Lab Cyclotron Road Key Contacts