Katie Richardson, Ph.D.

NREL

Katie Richardson, Ph.D. is the group manager for NREL’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s only national laboratory solely focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. Katie’s team leverages the federal investment in NREL to boost startup success and accelerate impactful climate technologies to the marketplace. The center provides access to NREL expertise, equipment, and deep entrepreneurial networks for climate tech startups, incubators, and venture capitalists. NREL technology accelerators enable startups to work closely with lab researchers. Located in Golden, Colorado, the center has 84 companies in its portfolio, which have realized more than $2 billion in follow-on funding. Katie previously served as the State Science and Development Director for U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich. She holds a Ph.D. in physics.