Partnering Opportunities

How Can I Obtain Access to DOE’s Inorganic Membrane Technology?

Because of exclusive waiver grants from DOE, only IMTL can license elements of previously developed DOE inorganic membrane technology. Furthermore, IMTL must be directly involved in any new development activity using or advancing this technology. Following DOE’s rules and procedures, IMTL controls licensing of new membrane solutions produced under related CRADAs with U.S. companies.

Working with you under a CRADA, IMTL can develop a membrane that meets your separation requirements. Then IMTL can license to you up-to-exclusive rights to make, use, and sell that membrane, providing your company a protected business advantage.

Steps to Commercialization of IMTL Technology

1. Fill out Contact Form

2. Define your needs and a submit preliminary proposal (under a Nondisclosure Agreement)
3. Meet with IMTL to discuss development strategy and commercialization process
4. Submit foriegn ownership, control, and influence (FOCI) papers
5. Define the formal statement of work (SOW)
6. Negotiate a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), including options for licensing
7. Develop a prototype through the process defined in the SOW
8. Submit the prototype to DOE for approval
9. Negotiate a license agreement for product deployment
10. Proceed with commercial manufacturing and deployment

Nondisclosure Agreements– Nondisclosure agreements allow private companies and IMTL staff to exchange proprietary information for the purpose of evaluating technologies.

FOCI – Foreign ownership, control and influence (FOCI) approval is required to participate in a CRADA and/or a license for this technology. Your company must provide documentation to support the premise that it is not under foreign ownership, control, or influence.

SOW – The CRADA statement of work (SOW) is developed by your company in concert with IMTL. The SOW contains: objectives for the development activity; tasking arrangements that describe and break down the cooperative development efforts; and statements of cost and schedule to accomplish the objectives.

CRADA – Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) between IMTL and its partners in U.S. industry allow for effective sharing of benefits and resources. Each partner contributes to the research project. IMTL can provide personnel, facilities, and equipment. You can provide the product specification, funds, marketing, and development and commercialization experience. Through a CRADA, you gain access to the extraordinary scientific capabilities and facilities of IMTL. A CRADA also provides a structured statement of work with task responsibilities and milestone schedules and a set of defined intellectual property terms for any inventions developed under the CRADA. A CRADA can either be Funds-In, where you supply all of the funding, or you can choose to secure funding from a private or government source. Keep in mind that funds from other (non-DOE) government sources may raise special issues.

Prototype – An end product of each CRADA is the functional prototype.

DOE Product Approval – Any inorganic membrane/filter product newly developed under an IMTL CRADA requires a review by DOE prior to your commercial production or use. The review process is divided into a number of separate parts involving expert technical review of the prototype and DOE policy review of licensing considerations. Experience with the process suggests that the reviews require about 90 days. As of August 2001, DOE has approved 12 products from IMTL CRADAs for commercialization. Several of these are now in production by Pall Corporation under a license agreement.

License Agreement – Licenses from IMTL grant intellectual property rights to U.S. companies capable of using the available/developed inventions to fully commercialize (make/use/sell) the CRADA membrane-products. Through CRADAs and licensing, IMTL meets DOE’s requirements for fairness-of-opportunity. As part of our licensing program, we may negotiate up-front fees and royalties in exchange for granting defined rights to you. In the case of a license for IMTL technology, you secure exclusive or non-exclusive rights to make, use, and sell the membrane products developed under your completed CRADA.

Commercial Manufacturing –To achieve the licensing advantages, you must follow DOE rules and procedures concerning commercial manufacturing and sale of approved products. Because these rules and procedures are limiting, we anticipate but a few companies, perhaps yours, will actually develop a manufacturing capability/facility.

So far one U.S. company, Pall Corporation (Pall), having achieved certain manufacturing rights to IMTL’s technology under CRADAs and resulting licenses, has capitalized an approved manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge.

Once your product is developed under a CRADA, Pall can make your approved product at its Oak Ridge facility. This approach may prove to be the most effective path to having your product manufactured. This option would have to be negotiated with Pall and determined to best fit your business strategy.

If you have achieved manufacturing rights and wish to capitalize a separate manufacturing facility, DOE will assist you through leasing arrangements of reused facilities in Oak Ridge and other properties. See www.ettpreuse.com for more information on leasing opportunities. Other considerations support locating your manufacturing facility in Oak Ridge, such as DOE’s requirements for a secure facility operation and your ability to easily tap into the resources of IMTL.

Results from Successful Partnering

• 15 CRADAs have been successfully completed.
• 12 products have been approved for commercialization.
• Approved products have been made from both metals and ceramic oxides.
• Pore sizes of approved products range from 400 Å to 40 µm.
• Licenses have been negotiated and granted to two U.S. companies.
• Products are already being manufactured and sold by Pall Corporation.
• The DOE oversight process is now well-defined.

The 15 completed CRADAs have produced membranes and filters of metals and ceramics and with broad-ranging, effective pore sizes as indicated below.