S. 1286 would direct the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a program to promote the commercialization of energy and related technologies that are developed at department facilities such as the National Laboratories. The bill would authorize DOE to use amounts available under the Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) to carry out the program. That fund receives 0.9 percent of the total amount appropriated annually to DOE for applied research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of energy-related technologies.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1286 would have no significant effect on the federal budget because the bill’s requirements are largely consistent with existing activities funded under the TCF. In 2019, DOE used roughly $27 million from the fund for commercialization activities.
