Lab-exterior

Pike Powers Commercialization Lab

Set to open in summer of 2012, the Pike Powers Commercialization Lab will promote research, commercialization and educational opportunities for University of Texas students, faculty and start-ups from UT’s Austin Technology Incubator (ATI).

The mission of the Pike Powers Commercialization Lab, the nation’s first nonprofit smart grid research lab, is to serve as an elite industry-caliber facility where Pecan Street and University of Texas students and researchers can collaborate with the private sector on cutting-edge applied research in consumer-focused smart grid, wireless, IT, clean energy and healthcare applications.

In the coming months, Pecan Street and ATI will announce the criteria by which early-stage companies may apply for product validation and testing at the lab.

Later this year, we will also conduct our first weeklong Commercialization Bootcamp. At the Commercialization Bootcamp, selected UT students and aspiring entrepreneurs will spend a week at the lab and our facilities working with our team and the lab’s advanced testing equipment and developing the skills to create successful companies out of amazing technologies and business ideas.

Commercialization

Entrepreneurial UT researchers and start-up companies from ATI will have the opportunity to commercialize innovative research at the lab. Examples of commercialization activities made possible by the lab include:

  • The ability to test, refine and demonstrate products to commercialize new technologies and bring advanced products to market, such as new electric vehicle chargers with integrated demand management and energy monitoring
  • Utilization of the lab’s unique infrastructure to conduct field testing on new technologies, like advanced home energy storage and management systems that will keep a home powered during utility outages
  • Consortium members will employ the lab’s modular design to establish interoperability between smart grid-enabled appliances
  • Guidance from ATI and Pecan Street lab staff will be available throughout the process of testing, refining and demonstrating new technologies

Companies eligible for lab access include those sponsored by ATI, the UT Office of Technology Commercialization and Innovation Council members.

Research

The lab’s university-caliber testing facility will bring together member companies, entrepreneurs and UT researchers to carry out industry-university research. To enhance their research, each of these groups will have access to Pecan Street data at UT’s Texas Advanced Computing Center. Examples of research opportunities include:
  • Commercial research collaborations between students, faculty and private industry with access to advanced testing equipment to develop technologies, such as new electronics for more efficient appliances
  • Original utility-focused research, such as the opportunity for utilities to plan for the future by testing new equipment in the lab and measuring grid impacts
  • Access to a safe location to test new technologies and novel configurations before testing in homes, such as the testing of prototype devices for standards compliance
  • The ability to provide recommendations to industry standards bodies

Education

Contributor financial support will fund scholarships and stipends for UT students to carry out research in the lab, and it will also serve as a resource among the smart grid community. Examples of educational opportunities provided by the lab include:

  • The production of educational materials to teach policymakers about smart grid technology and energy conservation, as well as materials on commercialization and testing for entrepreneurs, start-ups and the UT community
  • A weeklong boot camp for UT students and entrepreneurs, where participants will hear presentations by industry leaders, attend business planning workshops and receive guidance on commercializing technologies and hands-on experience in a world-class lab

Pecan Street Inc. is building the three-story lab across the street from the former Mueller Municipal Airport’s air traffic control tower. The tower was preserved after the airport’s decommissioning and has become an iconic structure in the green-built Mueller community.

Opportunities to participate

If you are a start-up company or University of Texas researcher interested in accessing the lab, please contact Scott Hinson at 512-782-9213 or shinson@pecanstreet.org.

If you are interested in supporting the lab’s programming, please contact Kathryn McCarter for more information on sponsorship opportunities at 512-782-9213 or kmccarter@pecanstreet.org.

Donate Now!

Include your name – or your company’s name – on the lab’s wall of supporters

To commemorate the lab’s launch, individuals and companies who contribute at least $500 in 2012 will have their names permanently engraved on a display in the public area of the ground floor.

Lab Advisory Council membership

Members will provide guidance on lab programming and deliver- ables to staff from Pecan Street and ATI. Members will also receive insights into the technologies being developed in the lab and have opportunities to interact with researchers and start-ups in biannual techni- cal reviews. Companies and individuals who commit at least $50,000 of support may serve on the Lab Advisory Council for each year in which their support meets or exceeds $10,000.

Donors will receive the following benefits:

$25,000 -  Pike Protégé

  • Four tickets to a private VIP reception with Pike for the lab’s grand opening, where we will unveil the permanent engraving of donor recognition
  • Seat on Lab Advisory Council with $50,000 commitment (see above)
  • Priority access to lab for VIP tours and private receptions
  • Two tables with priority seating (including signage) to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • Ten Pike Powers Lab T-shirts or coffee mugs
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Re- view quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website

$10,000 - Economic Developer

  • Two tickets to a private VIP reception with Pike for the lab’s grand opening, where we will unveil the permanent engraving of donor recognition
  • Seat on Lab Advisory Council with $50,000 commit- ment (see above)
  • Two tables with priority seating (including signage) to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • Ten Pike Powers Lab T-shirts or coffee mugs
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Re- view quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website

$5,000 - Commercializer

  • One table (including signage) to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • Five Pike Powers Lab T-shirts or coffee mugs
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Re- view quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website

$1,000 - Innovator

  • Four tickets to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • Four Pike Powers Lab T-shirts or coffee mugs
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Review quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website

$500 – Entrepreneur

  • Two tickets to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • Two Pike Powers Lab T-shirts or coffee mugs
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Review quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website

$250 – Partner

  • One ticket to the Pike Powers Commercialization Summit
  • One Pike Powers Lab T-shirt or coffee mug
  • Subscription to the Pecan Street Commercialization Review quarterly newsletter
  • Name placement on the Pecan Street Inc. website