TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER Annual Report 20 Royalties During FY 2018, U.S. businesses sold roughly $11 million in products, processes and innovations based on INL patented technologies. From FY 2005 to FY 2018, INL signed 66 new licenses to commercialize technologies developed within the laboratory. License agreements generate royalties, and INL has earned more than $20.7 million in royalties since the inception of BEA’s contract in FY 2005. During FY 2018, INL received nearly $1 million in royalty receipts. Royalties are one of the important signals that INL innovations are meeting market needs. INL continues to encourage innovation and to reinvest a significant portion of royalty revenues to promote development of promising early-stage technologies. Expenditure of royalty funds is governed by federal regulations and must support technology transfer activities. Roughly 30 percent of $3.5M $3M $2.5M $2M $1.5M $1M $0 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 $964, 528 INL royalty funds are shared with inventors of licensed technologies. Additional money is spent to reward employees who have supported technology transfer activities throughout the laboratory, independent of a specific technology having commercial application. The remaining royalties are reinvested via two funds, the Science and Technology Strategic Investments Fund (SIF) and the Innovation Development Fund (IDF). SIF supports R&D capabilities that will lead to new technology development and increase the potential for INL to generate new business. A key to the success of these investments will be INL’s ability to attract industry partners that are so essential in advancing future INL technologies. INL created the IDF to support technology maturation projects through proof of concept and prototype development. DOE’s Office of Technology Transfer Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF) is aimed at helping businesses move promising energy technologies from DOE’s national laboratories to the marketplace. TCF awards require matching funds from either the laboratory (Topic 1 awards) or from industry (Topic 2). In FY18, INL directed much of its IDF money to supporting TCF projects, which allowed INL to leverage its funding with matching DOE funds. Royalties received FY 2013-2018 Materials Research