Three Tickle College of Engineering alumni have been selected for the 2026 cohort of Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy (DOE) Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The program provides energy-related startup founders from across the country with access to ORNL’s researchers, facilities, and technical expertise, as well as connects them with experts, mentors, and networks to accelerate their efforts to take their promising ideas to the marketplace.
Eric Heikkenen (BS/MS/ME, ’17; PhD, ‘24), Erick Hoegberg (MS/NE, ’25), and Marton Krivan (BS/ISE, ‘25) will take part in the two-year fellowship program focused on energy and advanced manufacturing technologies. This year’s cohort is the first since the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) began managing the program.
Heikkenen, Hoegberg, and Krivan will each receive a personal living stipend, health insurance, and a substantial grant to use on collaborative research at ORNL and comprehensive mentoring assistance to build a sustainable business model for their respective start-ups. They will also take part in the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a 12-week program offered by the Spark Innovation Center at the UT Research Park.
“I am extremely excited to be selected. It’s a huge validation,” Krivan said. “This opportunity helps eliminates some of the risks of entrepreneurship, so we can focus on scaling our startup. Most of the recipients of this fellowship have PhDs and deep expertise in their fields. I’m a fresh grad, so this experience will be extremely beneficial to help get me up to speed and put me a on good path.”
Meet the TCE Recipients
Erick Hoegberg
Hoegberg’s start-up, DiNeu Technologies, is developing a technology that provides faster, lower-cost monitoring of alpha-emitting radioactive materials to support nuclear safety, security, and isotope production. By delivering faster, more affordable measurements than current methods, the company aims to improve the safe and efficient management of nuclear materials. The company’s diamond-based sensor system can accurately identify radioactive elements and specific isotopes in liquid samples, providing near-real-time measurements for processing, disposal, quality control and nuclear security. The system has received more than $2.9 million in funding through DOE’s ARPA-E program and the Y-12 National Security Complex, and has attracted interest from national laboratories, private companies, and academic researchers.
Hoegberg has been a graduate student in the Department of Nuclear Engineering’s PhD program since 2022 and is on schedule to be conferred this month. His thesis advisor, Charles P. Postelle Professor Eric Lukosi, encouraged Hoegberg to co-found DiNeu Technologies with him.
“Being selected to be among this cohort out of the many qualified applicants is a great honor and privilege,” Hoegberg said. “The startup will benefit from this in many ways. Access to technical staff and resources at ORNL will help ensure that our product is designed to the highest standards and incorporates feedback from experts and potential end users from the very beginning. Having a generous stipend and research allowance affords us more resources and gives the freedom to direct them wholly at developing the technology and bringing it to market.”
Marton Krivan
Krivan is the manufacturing lead for Aquafer Technologies, which develops water treatment materials that work with existing municipal and residential treatment systems to remove per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals.” The start-up’s patent-pending approach is easier and less expensive to adopt than many newer alternatives while providing longer-lasting, broad protection against more than 1,000 PFAS compounds. The technology has been successfully tested in real-world settings and is supported by an exclusive worldwide license and National Science Foundation certification for drinking water applications. The company was founded by Fuhar Dixit, an assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
“Our technology was a good fit for Innovation Crossroads because we want to make East Tennessee a leader in next-generation water treatment systems,” Krivan said. “We’re domestically manufactured, so we are not relying on overseas production that could threaten our national water security. We’re also strengthening our infrastructure, reducing energy usage, and we needed advanced materials capabilities, which is exactly what Oak Ridge excels at.”
Eric Heikkenen
Heikkenen’s start-up, NXT MFG, is developing a new metal 3D printing platform that makes it faster, cheaper, and easier to manufacture large, complex metal parts. The system combines lower-cost hardware with intelligent software that automates much of the manufacturing process, reducing the need for specialized expertise. The platform uses a unique wire-feed approach and real-time process monitoring to improve production efficiency and part quality.
About Innovations Crossroads
Innovation Crossroads is one of four DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) nodes, building on the program’s national success while advancing innovation through ORNL’s unique capabilities. Since its first cohort in 2017, Innovation Crossroads has supported over 51 startups that have achieved over $100 million in sales revenue and $326.8 million in follow-on funding.
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])