National energy startup showcase is coming to Knoxville | Mark your calendar for LEEP Demo Day
The U.S. Department of Energy's Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program brings its 2026 Demo Day to Covenant Health Park, putting the Knoxville and Oak Ridge innovation ecosystem on a national stage.
Knoxville will host one of the country’s most energized energy-startup showcases next month, as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) brings its 2026 Demo Day to Covenant Health Park on May 13. The Demo Day will be a part of a larger day-long entrepreneur takeover of the stadium downtown. Register for Innovation Night at the Park.
The LEEP Demo Day pulls founders from national laboratories across the country to East Tennessee for a full afternoon of startup pitches, investor conversations, and technology demonstrations.
What is LEEP?
LEEP recruits entrepreneurs through a national call for fully-funded fellowships at DOE national laboratories, backing early-stage founders working in energy generation and storage, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, biotechnology, and microelectronics. In East Tennessee, the LEEP program is Innovation Crossroads at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has hosted dozens of talented fellows since its first cohort in 2017.
Since LEEP’s launch nationally, the program has supported 239 fellows, helped start 202 businesses, and generated more than $6 billion in follow-on funding — with a 92% startup success rate and 3,928 jobs created.
Now East Tennessee gets to see that pipeline up close.
Startup pitches run from noon to 4 p.m. in the Clubhouse at Covenant Health Park. Founders will take the stage to present companies working across sectors that matter to the region’s economic future. After pitches wrap, networking will continue at 121 Tech Hub, which is just one block from the stadium at 121 E. Jackson Ave.
The evening shifts to Innovation Night at the Park, where a startup showcase on the concourse opens at 5:30 p.m. with live demos and founder meet-and-greets.
At 7 p.m., One Knox Soccer faces Union Omaha on the field. Discounted game tickets are available for event attendees. A game ticket is required for evening concourse access.
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