Lockheed on the Hunt for Clean Energy Tech Partners

If cleantech startups want to get into government contracting — an option with increasing appeal given the state of today’s private markets and the size of projects covered by stimulus spending — why not ride the coattails of one of the giants? That’s the route opened up this week by Lockheed Martin; the defense behemoth has launched a search for partners with which to develop smart grid, energy storage, high-efficiency photovoltaic conversion and carbon nanotube technologies.

Lockheed is looking for companies to present at the firm’s Special Innovation Symposia at the Nanotech Conference & Expo in Houston this May, but there’s more at stake than a seat at the roundtable. In its call for submissions, Lockheed said it’s looking for “joint R&D, licensing and partnering opportunities towards applied research, intellectual property and early-stage companies focused on” those four areas of clean technology.

Lockheed’s own R&D resources are not insignificant — the company employs some 146,000 people worldwide, most of whom are tasked with the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. But Lockheed has already turned beyond its own ranks for help with cleantech. This latest partner search comes a little more than a year after the company said it plans to test stealthy startup EEStor’s supercapacitors on the battlefield as part of its effort to achieve “energy independence for the Warfighter.” The defense contractor also recently partnered with Starwood Energy Group to build a New Jersey facility for testing utility-scale solar technologies, slated to open this spring.

Photo courtesy Flickr user petercastleton