Innovation Corridor pairs labs, global firms

Colorado may not be Silicon Valley but the Front Range holds its own in the technology leadership category.  Industries like aerospace, telecommunications, engineering, software, environmental sciences, energy and agriculture continue to grow and to shoot off new sprouts.

Research sparks development, technology attracts top talent, and the economy creates more places at the table, Colorado is a growing economic hub for innovation and entrepreneurs.

To shine a spotlight on all this work, Formative, a Denver real estate and economic development firm, has partnered with two of Colorado’s premier research labs. The mission of this new arrangement is to connect federally funded labs with private industry, which in turn will kick local research and development into high gear, create more jobs and invite global entities to the party.

The Colorado Innovation Corridor will be co-anchored by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL). UCAR and NREL will be linked to private companies through the global marketplace collaborations at the World Trade Center (WTC) Denver Development located in the city’s River North neighborhood.

Formative is the firm behind the WTC Denver Development.

“After a decade of work with these organizations, I realized that the gap was their ability to interface with private labs,” said Eric Drummond, president of global strategy with Formative.  “My vision is to break down silos that have kept them shielded so people can know what they’re doing and help them connect with federal labs in the U.S. to build government entities and private industries.”

He described the labs as two of Colorado’s best kept secrets. Increasing their visibility nationally and internationally will be a vital step in increasing the kind of work they can do and attracting others to take the research and run with it.

“Both UCAR and NREL have the fastest super computers in the world, and we have the second highest number of research labs in the U.S. other than D.C. and Virginia,” Drummond added.

The WTC development at 38th Avenue and Blake Street will open in phases – the first one planned for 2019. The $200 million project is designed to establish headquarters for global enterprises, training and resource facilities and incubator space.

The Innovation Corridor platform is operational and live with memorandums of understanding (MOUs) finalized in April, according to Drummond.  “We’re also working with other stakeholders in the region such as the Smart Cities Alliance.”

Colorado Smart Cities Alliance is a statewide, multi-jurisdictional partnership created to accelerate the development of Smart City initiatives across the state.

Drummond cites Denver International Airport as a resource that adds to the appeal of the Innovation Corridor as “a point of domestic and global connectivity in Colorado for people coming in from overseas and all over.”

Richard Adams, director of the innovation and entrepreneurship center at NREL, described the corridor as a platform that will support innovation.

“With 23 national labs here, Colorado has a strong innovation presence, a highly intelligent workforce and it’s a great place to live,” he said.  “We’re looking to use large institutions like ours to bring innovation together and support it.”

He sees one of the Innovation Corridor’s missions as informing the world about the research here and to then get more companies to relocate, co-locate or invest here.

“The World Trade Center comes into play as a way to promote local research internationally and to reach out to foreign investors,” he added.  “Colorado hasn’t succeeded in building a platform of investors here – we have some but it would be great to grow that number.”

“This is a testimony to the maturity of our science,” said Antonio Busalacchi, UCAR president.  “We’re not just about basic research but also do applied research, development and support of operations in our industry.”

One of UCARs missions is to spotlight its focus on what Busalacchi refers to as ‘research to industry.’  The Innovation Corridor will provide an opportunity to put the directive into practice.

It will also help UCAR continue attracting top-notch researchers to UCAR. “I need to incentivize and recognize our researchers,” Busalacchi said. Universities struggle with how to recognize professors who don’t need to keep up with peer review publication but who contribute a lot of value to commercialized industry.

“This is something we need to do as researchers to advance our economic development. The table is now set to take this effort in UCAR to the next level.”

How UCAR and NCAR will use the WTC space is still in the works. “We will have a presence there but it’s premature to say anything publicly,” Busalacchi said.

“We’ve talked about running monthly seminars with our researchers talking about things like climate,” Adams said. 

For more than 20 years, NREL has hosted the Industry Growth Forum, which focuses on clean energy innovation. The event draws between 350 and 450 people. Holding the event in the WTC space is under consideration.

“There’s also a plan for a physical incubator at the World Trade Center where we’ll be providing support. We could also run programs to educate entrepreneurs.

“A key will be getting the right people there,” Adams added. “It’s not just about filling the building but about bringing people in to add value to our clean energy ecosystem as well as all aspects on the market like coal and natural gas.”

Since energy drives everything we do, it’s a cohesive asset to build on, according to Adams.  “Energy is the glue that binds sectors such as biosciences, aerospace and technology.”

Drummond’s goals for the Innovation Corridor reach far and wide. “I’m working with partners to create a foundation and potential investment funds associated with the corridor,” he said, defining the scope as ranging from commercial banks to private foundations.

“They see in us an arena to dispense their grants into advanced energy and as a place to vet business opportunities. We’re in the process of attracting a fairly large amount of capital that ultimately will be more than $100 million or multiples of that in 48 months or so.”

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