What is the Defense Innovation Ecosystem?
Technological superiority is the cornerstone of the United States’ military edge and overall national security, and the US must work to promote private and public sector defense innovation to maintain this advantage. To this end, the US relies on a network of National Laboratories, research institutions, defense innovation organizations, and private companies to drive innovation and connect military users with advanced technology. Many of these organizations also dedicate significant resources to non-military projects, contributing more broadly to core scientific research and technological development. As Scout Ventures strives to support the frontiers of Western technology through dual-use investment, a comprehensive understanding of this defense innovation ecosystem is critical to success in the field. This understanding is also vital to generating asymmetric, outsized returns in an industry built on the multi-faceted network. As such, this paper will focus on the role of National Laboratories in the broader defense innovation landscape.
National Laboratory Funding
The United States Department of Energy’s 17 National Laboratories form a system of research institutions dedicated to solving some of the world’s greatest scientific and technology (S&T) challenges. The labs work to fill the gap between university and industry research, focusing on issues that require a concentrated, long-term approach. National Labs are Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and receive approximately $12B in government funding per year. In November 2022, Congress authorized a separate $1.5B upgrade to National Lab projects and infrastructure, part of a broader government initiative to advance solutions-driven research and innovation. Operating under the Management and Operating (M&O) Contract Model, the National Laboratory system represents the most comprehensive research system of its kind in the world. National Labs deliver an average of 1500 inventions and 700 patents every year and have produced 62 Nobel Laureates and hundreds of R&D 100 awards in the system’s history.
Technology Transfer & Commercialization
National Lab technology transfer and commercialization efforts involve the process of moving innovations, technologies, and research outcomes from government-owned laboratories into the commercial sector for broader use and economic benefit. Recent examples of commercialization success, National Labs developed the advanced cathode technology that powers the Chevrolet Volt and built the enclosure for the radioisotope thermoelectric generators that fuel NASA spacecraft such as Cassini. There are a variety of mechanisms by which technology transfer occurs at the National Labs, including Strategic Partnership Projects (SPPs), licensing of a facility’s intellectual property (IP), Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), facility outreach, and use of research facilities. According to the DOE, technology transfer can mean many things - technical assistance to solve a specific problem, use of unique facilities, licensing of patents and software, and exchange of personnel. These arrangements provide for collaboration between DOE and the private sector and often result in the commercialization of National Lab products and processes.
Understanding the importance of National Labs in the commercialization of advanced technologies, Scout Ventures regularly coordinates with leading researchers focused on the development of dual-use tech. Scout representatives visit technology transfer and commercialization offices on a quarterly basis to gain insight into the most promising advancements in scientific discovery and national security. Through this collaboration, Scout has established partnerships with several companies incubated in National Labs and provided further investment to aid in growth and commercialization efforts. Additionally, by initiating lines of technical assistance, Scout has extended the system’s scientific and technological expertise to companies founded outside of the National Lab network. Overall, Scout’s relationship with the National Lab system provides unique investment opportunities into cutting-edge technology and aids in the development of portfolio companies.
Commercialization Examples
National Lab Organization
The National Lab network’s organizational structure enables researchers at individual laboratories to collaborate within the Department of Energy (DOE) system, in addition to interfacing with industry partners and academia. The DOE’s interaction with multidisciplinary partners facilitates big-picture investment and advanced problem-solving in various fields. This system prioritizes the pursuit of the most effective solutions, unencumbered by organizational constraints or boundaries.
Types of DOE National Laboratories
Most of the National Lab system’s work is driven by the DOE’s core missions - energy innovation, science discovery, nuclear security, and environmental cleanup. However, the labs also address problems outside the realm of energy, catalyzing multi-sector research that promotes the nation’s economic competitiveness and military strength. National Labs share a common mission of conducting research and development to address leading national priorities, but each lab offers distinct capabilities and a unique focus on S&T problems. As such, each National Lab belongs to one of the following categories: Energy Technology, Multipurpose Science, Single-Program Science, Multipurpose Environmental, or Multipurpose Security. This paper will focus on the role of Multipurpose Security and Science Labs in enhancing national security and driving defense innovation.
Multipurpose Security Labs
Multipurpose Security Laboratories are designed and equipped to support a wide range of research, development, and evaluation activities related to national security issues. Multipurpose Security Lab efforts mostly take place in classified spaces and support the protection of the country through cutting-edge science and engineering.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LNL) core mission is to apply science and technology to make the world a safer place. LLNL develops the S&T to achieve breakthroughs in the fields of counterterrorism and nonproliferation, nuclear deterrence, defense and intelligence, and energy and environmental security. In its 72-year history, LLNL has made critical contributions to the development of nuclear weapons and high-performance computing, among other major projects. In December 2022, LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) became the first fusion reactor to achieve a net gain of energy.
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was established in 1943 as a secure site for designing nuclear weapons under the Manhattan Project. Today, the lab executes work across the DOE’s core missions of national security, science, exploration, energy, and environmental management. The lab's stockpile research efforts play a vital role in solidifying the DOE as a prominent force in the nation's scientific, technological, and engineering landscape.
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is headquartered at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico and maintains additional facilities in Livermore, California and Waimea, Hawaii. SNL works with government organizations, industry, and academia in the strategic areas of energy, global security, and nuclear weapons technology. An example of SNL’s scope of work and recent accomplishments, the labs facilitated testing to certify the B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb’s compatibility with the F-35A, B-2A, F-16A/B, and F-15E in 2022.
Multipurpose Science Laboratories
Multipurpose Science Laboratories offer unique core capabilities and serve as hubs for a variety of multidisciplinary research programs. The labs play a critical role in strengthening national security, fostering innovation, and mitigating vulnerabilities across various domains by developing progressive, crosscutting technology.
Born out of the University of Chicago’s work on the Manhattan Project in the 1940s, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is a multidisciplinary research institution committed to finding solutions for numerous critical national priorities, including combating climate change, meeting society’s growing demands on energy and water resources, reducing the threat of nuclear proliferation, revitalizing aging infrastructure, protecting society from public health crises, and bolstering the nation’s economy. Notably, the lab announced in 2019 that it was working on a project to develop the world’s most powerful supercomputer, which will cost around $500M to build and have the processing power of 1 quintillion flops.
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a multidisciplinary laboratory with seven Nobel Prize-winning discoveries, 37 R&D 100 Awards, and more than 70 years of pioneering research. Among Brookhaven Lab’s current initiatives are nuclear science, energy science, data science, particle physics, accelerator science and technology, quantitative plant science, and quantum information science.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is a multiprogram institution charged with conducting unclassified research across a wide six main areas: advancing integrated fundamental energy science, integrative biological and environmental system science, advanced computing for science impact, discovering the fundamental properties of matter and energy, accelerators for the future, and developing energy technology innovations for a sustainable future. LBNL is credited with discovering more elements on the periodic table than any other institution and is a world leading contributor to the development of radiation therapy for treating cancer.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) performs research in the areas of neutron science, high-performance computing, advanced materials, biology and environmental science, nuclear science and engineering, isotopes, and national security research to benefit science and society. ORNL is the largest National Laboratory in terms of physical size and third largest by budget. Oak Ridge houses several advanced supercomputers, including Frontier, which was recently ranked as the world’s most powerful by TOP500.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s (PNNL) core capabilities are organized into five areas: chemical and materials sciences, computational and mathematical Sciences, earth and biological sciences, engineering, and user facilities and advanced instrumentation. PNNL addresses a broad array of national problems and has most recently contributed to efforts to safely dispose of radiological and hazardous wastes and nuclear fuels.
Citations
American Action Forum
•Rossetti, Phillip. Publicly Funded National Labs Important to U.S. Innovation. https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/publicly-funded-national-labs-still-important-u-s-innovation/#ixzz8HvW84Vhu
Argonne National Laboratory
•Argonne at a Glance. https://www.anl.gov/reference/discovery-and-innovation-for-prosperity-and-security
Brookhaven National Laboratory
•About Brookhaven. https://www.bnl.gov/about/
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
•Research. https://www.lbl.gov/research/•
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
•Ideals in Action. https://www.llnl.gov/about
Los Alamos National Laboratory
•Mission. https://mission.lanl.gov/
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
•Solving the Big Problems. https://www.ornl.gov/content/solving-big-problems
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
•About. https://www.pnnl.gov/
RAND Corporation
•Kotilla, Brodi, Jeffrey Drezner, Elizabeth Bartels, Devon Hill,Quentin Hodgson, Shreya Huilgol, Shane Manuel, Michael Simpson, and Jonathan Wong. Strengthening the Defense Innovation Ecosystem. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1352-1.html•
Sandia National Laboratories
•Research. https://www.sandia.gov/research/
Science.org
•Cho, Adrian. Some labs, projects win big as Department of Energy disburses extra funds. https://www.science.org/content/article/some-labs-projects-win-big-department-energy-disburses-extra-funds
United States Department of Energy
•The State of the DOE National Laboratories. https://www.energy.gov/articles/state-doe-national-laboratories-2020-edition
•Technology Transfer. https://science.osti.gov/lp/Technology-Transfer
